


An Auraless Huntsman

by GenericBoi848



Category: RWBY, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Friendship/Love, Inventor Midoriya Izuku, MHA / RWBY, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku has guns, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, RWBY with some changes, Volume 1 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 105,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24362374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenericBoi848/pseuds/GenericBoi848
Summary: Izuku Midoriya has wanted to be a Huntsman for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately for him, his Aura is so weak he can't protect himself from an annoying fly let alone an enraged Grimm. But, for what he lacks in Aura, he makes up for in intellect and genius. Can his weapons and gadgets protect him from the dangers of being a Huntsman? Read and comment, constructive criticism is welcome. The note on the first chapter is mainly about the changes to RWBY's universe I've made for narrative reasons.
Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Everyone, Midoriya Izuku & Melissa Shield, Midoriya Izuku & Pyrrha Nikos, Midoriya Izuku & Ruby Rose (RWBY)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 82





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> That disclaimer everyone expects but never actually reads: My Hero Academia and all of its characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi. Likewise, RWBY and all of its characters belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.
> 
> Before I start, I'm going to be altering some things because I've read and watched numerous fanfics and addendums which have added interesting ideas that I'd like to implement,
> 
> The dragon island north of Vacuo is ignored by Rooster Teeth which is pretty disappointing given how cool it looks. In this fic, it's going to consist of two areas:
> 
> The northern wing and the tail are what we'll call the 'Free Banks.' It's an alliance to create a trade hub for all kingdoms that was created after the Great War. Agriculture is a huge focus given Atlas can't exactly feed its people in its icy, uninhabitable tundra land since logically there would be little to no plants that can be cultivated in that climate and, whilst greenhouses can make quite a bit of food, it'd seem more logical that they use the fertile land close by. Along with agriculture, manufacturing weapons and private armies are a huge focus here.
> 
> The main body and head of the dragon are known as 'Tenebris' which translates to 'Shadowland.' The name may not be creative but I spammed words in Latin and found something decent. If you couldn't tell by the name, it's completely overrun with Grimm. This is the most profitable, resource-rich area in all of Remnant (mainly in Dust and metals.) If people want to get those resources, they need to risk their lives. The area is often explored by professional Huntsmen in the hopes that the area can be settled and the resources mined and taken. However, even they will struggle against the decades-old and potentially centuries-old Grimm that prowl in the night.
> 
> Speaking of Grimm, those shadowy creatures are going to be a little more interesting. They have threat levels (Dark 1 through 4 which will be explained, don't worry) and each species of Grimm (Ursa, Beowolf, Nevermore etc) are assigned a level of strength although there's always the chance they move up a level. They actively hunt humans and Faunus but they will fight anything they perceive as a threat . Once a Grimm dies, the shadowy flesh disappears but the bones remain and are often used as proof of a successful hunt. These bones are also used for medical and educational purposes as well as ornamental use.
> 
> Grimm are also going to have an affinity to the darkness, mainly because they are literal shadows and embodiments of darkness. Going to a dark cave for a mining operation (foreshadowing for SDC) is a suicide mission given the fact that Grimm can become stronger by prowling in the dark (which is where the name 'Dark scale' comes from.) This affinity to dark does not make them weaker to light.  
> Aura will also be an 'on-off' thing instead of a passive shield (I think that's how it works in show.) When in a dangerous situation, a person can activate their Aura and keep it up for a finite amount of time before they need to take a break to recharge. When in a fight, damaging the shield will shorten the amount of time they can stay up. In a sanctioned fight (like the Vytal Festival and the sparring classes) people must tap out once they hit a specific time (one hour, thirty minutes etc.)  
> Because Aura isn't really measured in strength and the like (which is weird considering scientists like to measure everything IRL,) I'm using Celtic Phoenix's system which works on a letter-number basis where the letter represents durability and the number represents the hours that the shield can be held for without being attacked. The higher the letter (A is the lowest, Z is the highest) the stronger the Aura and the higher the number, the longer it can be held up. A - E is civilian level, F - T is where soldiers and huntsman will be, U - X is where silver-eyes, All Might, All for One and other legendary fighters are, Z is literal god-tier.
> 
> Semblances are the same as normal (are usually found out after some stress or training) with the only difference being that they always use Aura no matter what (which was a rule that was broken often during the Vytal Tournament in canon.

Izuku Midoriya was an inventor. It was a simple fact. As much as the boy idolised the Huntsmen and Huntresses that fought the Grimm, nothing compared to his love for cold, hard steel and a bunch of motors. By age six, he'd make blueprints of what weapons he wanted to use, no matter how rough they were. By age seven, he turned those primitive blueprints into a physical product. By age 15, the boy could supply an army with his custom weapons.

It was why he sat in his room, screwdriver in hand as he unscrewed some bolts on half of a thick, hefty bracer the length of his forearm. The metal screw fell out of its hole, allowing Izuku to remove a piece of the exterior of the bracer.

"C'mon! C'mon! You can't break on me now!" Izuku said, a few tears in his eyes, "You're my best weapon! I shouldn't have tried to lift a car with only one wire! I knew it wouldn't work!"

Black Whip, the name of the bracers, was one of the oldest and most versatile weapons in Izuku's arsenal. He'd made two metal bands, one for each arm, and each band held two wires. At first, the inventor would use a sliding mechanism and pull the wires out to be used by hand. However, to make it more useful, Izuku added a motion sensor and placed a few motors to create controls to move the whip at will.

It may have taken a while to write the code onto the system but he managed (after copying some code from a forum he'd found.) A large enhancement that came with the motion sensor was a mini hydraulic pulling kit to help the whip reach mind-boggling speeds. Another addition to the Black Whip was the use of lightning dust and rubber tips at the end of each whip. It was safe to say that being struck by the end of Black Whip would cause crippling pain.

He removed the piece of metal exterior and tapped a release mechanism to stop any resistance from the wire. The inventor pulled the metal out of its enclosure and looked for the area where a cable had snapped. Once he found the split in the wire, Midoriya sighed in relief given that he had only broken a segment and not the entire weapon.

Izuku started scribbling in his notebook, "If I didn't break the main innards, I should start noting down my results. One wire can, almost, lift an old car which was once around 1'100 kg. Since the interior was completely hollowed out, only the chassis and the exterior need to be accounted for. That would mean I almost lifted around 60% of the car which is 660 kg. Thank you, moments and hydraulics for the power you've given me. I knew that Black Whip was a great idea from the day I made it.

With the notes done, the wire further, "I'm sorry I caused you to break but I'll fix you tomorrow! Please forgive me!"

Izuku started rambling to the cold metal, a one-sided apology which seemed to not be accepted. He made a whining noise and his cheeks started to heat up once he realised what he was doing. Realising the amount of noise he was making in the night it was, he quickly bit his lip and hoped no one heard him.

Izuku updated his schedule to remake the wire after he came home from combat school, "It should take a few days to mould a new wire and cool it down. Until then, one of my wires will be a few centimetres shorter than the other."

Someone knocked on the door, causing him to yelp in surprise, "You can come in, mum."

The woman walked in, a tired yet slightly amused look on her face, "Izuku, what did we say about late-night tinkering? You always start talking to your weapons and it's too late in the night for a boy your age to be talking with inanimate objects. You can only upgrade your weapons on the weekends! Isn't the school year ending in a few weeks anyway? All of that time just for you to upgrade your weapons. Think of all the things you can do then and all the sleep you can get now."

The boy looked at his mum apologetically, "I'm sorry, mum! Though, technically this isn't an upgrade... It's a repair. One of Black Whip's wires tore so I needed to remove it before it hurt someone."

The edge of Inko's lips rose a little, "Always thinking of other people, aren't you, Izuku? That's why you'd make a great huntsman. Even without your aura, you're still the hero I know you'll become. But, even heroes need their rest between battles."

Izuku frowned a little when she mentioned his condition. He basically had no aura. None! He wasn't even an A-0 on the universal aura scale. He wasn't simply a weakling, he was a complete pushover. His aura lasted maybe twenty seconds total simply because a slight breeze could empty his limited supply in seconds.

This caused Izuku to be… bullied? Harassed? Neglected? All of the above? All of the above was probably the correct option. Izuku was one-of-a-kind, a spectacle of pitiful strength and bad luck. A person so weak he had to rely on gadgets to even hold his own against the others, something which could either be admired for the attempt or looked down on.

He was powerless. He shouldn't be able to reach his dream... Or he wouldn't be able to reach his dream if he didn't have a knack for creating weapons and gadgets (the ones that he was often ridiculed for.) Aura and semblances were amazing but, for Izuku, armour and weapons were the way to go. After all, if he learnt anything from his huntsman studies, it was that 'it's also a gun' was a universally accepted statement.

Every weapon he'd created lay behind him on a steel shelf, bringing that familiar sense of nostalgia. The variety of gadgets, miniature guns, revolver maces (since one wasn't enough), the explosive javelins and numerous other weapons, equipment and projectiles were an example that he, Izuku Midoriya, could rise to any challenge despite his lack of Aura.

"Alright, mum! Even All Might will only do hero work for three hours per day. My wires tore so I'm going to need to make a new one after school," Izuku said, his attention going back to his sole parental figure, "Though I should probably plan some enhancements for my wrist-mounted gun!"

Inko gave him a warm smile, "Ah, the guns. You know, we should question children creating and using tools of mass murder but, in this day and age, it's become the norm… Heh, if it wasn't, you wouldn't make all of your tools like that gun gauntlet? Gunlet, perhaps? It was adorable when you pitched it to me."

"But a mini machine gun on your wrist is so cool!" Izuku defended, grabbing a gauntlet and pressing a button, "I mean, I can have Black Whip attach behind the machine gun barrel to drag targets into the firing range!"

"Whatever, Izuku. But, even though you dream to be a huntsman, I still wish that wasn't necessary… Wouldn't it be nice if the Grimm just disappeared?" Inko smiled, flicking a switch to turn off the lights, "But, no need to speculate what ifs. Go to sleep. You can upgrade your gun gauntlet tomorrow night!"

"Alright! Goodnight."

* * *

Izuku activated his wrist gauntlet, a barrel popping out of the exterior. He was currently standing at the shooting range for Sanctum Academy, barrel aimed at a target as he held the timer with Black Whip.

He'd already started the moulding process for one of the wires and would let it cool overnight. In the meantime, Izuku wanted to get a little marksman training with his Wrist Mounted Gun and some of his other firearms. The boy raised his right forearm to disable the safety and allow him to open fire at will.

The Wrist Mounted Gun, sometimes shortened to WMG, are a duo of gauntlets that house both a semi-machine gun and several magazines of ammo. He placed the trigger onto the lower palm of the gauntlet, a sliding mechanism over it so that it doesn't trigger by accident

The WMG was Izuku's first dabble into a ranged weapon after Sanctum improved his skills with handguns and submachine guns. He'd designed with a single idea in his head: use Black Whip to swing any opposition in front of the barrel and shoot them at point-blank range. Of course, that meant he needed to attach Black Whip onto his WMG.

He achieved this by attaching both halves of both of the metal bands that contained Black Whip and used magnetism and a railing system to slide them onto the gauntlet. The two worked in tandem and the boy enjoyed the feeling of completeness when using his creations together. In Izuku's eye's, Black Whip and WMG gave him the power to become a hunter and that's what he would do.

Izuku got as close as he could to a Chapman stance, left arm bent upwards to support his right gauntlet whilst relaxing his lower muscles into the textbook stance (left foot slightly ahead of the right foot.) Whilst he could dual-wield his machine guns, he liked the accuracy and precision that was gained from the Chapman stance which was his default firearm stance. Another wire came out of Izuku's Black Whip and tapped the button causing a little beep to go off.

As soon as the beep hit his ears, he fired two rounds at one target, pivoted to shoot another one, sprayed a short burst at one of the moving targets and shot down one of the flying red discs. Izuku sprinted to his left, rolling behind cover and firing bullets at the target directly in front of him.

Izuku ran out of cover and quickly took notice of the number of targets that were three metres away from him. With a dual-wield approach, Izuku sprayed bullets at the targets. He hit the targets as accurately as he could given the inaccuracy of dual-wielding. His arms swept from the left to the right, knocking down each of the targets around him, before pivoting to the right and running to the next set of targets.

"Dual wielding is impractical unless the targets are less than five metres away! Any further than that and I'd just be wasting ammo!" Izuku reminded himself as he sprinted to the final set of targets.

Though that wasn't too important since one of WMG's main advantages over a standard firearm was the ammo capacity. Whilst your average submachine gun or machine pistol held between 20 to 40 rounds, Izuku was able to stuff his gauntlets with 250 9mm bullets. He did this by running 9mm bullets along the length of his forearm, all around his forearm. Given he had two gauntlets, he had a max capacity of 500 bullets before the boy would need to reload the Wrist Mounted Gun so he was usually ready for a lengthy encounter.

Izuku went back into the reliable Chapman Stance as he reached the final group of targets. He dove to the first cover he saw before rising up to aim at his next targets. The boy fired a couple of bullets at a bullseye on the ground before pivoting slightly clockwise and shooting a burst at the humanoid target. The inventor steadied himself before firing single rounds at a quartet of targets twenty metres off. Though he missed his first round, the other four bullets hit each of their marks causing Izuku to sigh in relief.

He stopped the timer with Black Whip and checked his time, "1:31 is a slight improvement over my old 1:32.5."

The inventor opened a lock on his weapons and looked at his remaining ammo. He'd fired a little under a quarter of his total ammo on his right gauntlet and thirty rounds on his left, which meant he should probably reload if he wanted to have another attempt. As he walked back to the stands, Izuku heard someone speak to him

"Hello there! You have impressive aim and such a unique weapon!" Izuku looked up and saw a rather pretty girl, "You should be proud of crafting it. It's said that a weapon is an extension of one's body so I assume you're the inventive type."

Izuku smiled slightly, trying to keep his nerves down from human interaction, "O-Oh, t-thank you..."

The girl seemed a little to smile a little, "Pyrrha Nikos. Will I be seeing you here again?"

Izuku nodded, cheeks gaining a slight red tint due to awkwardness and embarrassment, "Y-Yes. I come here to t-train my skill with these g-gauntlets. M-My name is Izuku M-Midoriya by the way…"

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Izuku!" the girl said before lifting a small device, "Would you mind holding the stopwatch for me?"

The green-haired boy shook his head, "I-I wouldn't mind at all."

He held the stopwatch with Black Whip, eliciting a yelp of surprise. The girl got over it and waited for her to get into position before giving her the go. Izuku expected the girl to reach a similar time to him, maybe a little lower given he wasn't the greatest marksman. He was utterly surprised when she beat him by a solid twelve seconds.

Izuku handed back her stopwatch with a look of awe, "Holy Woah! Y-You have an amazing aim, I bet you're one of the top students!"

Pyrrha giggled in delight, "Maybe so. Well, I've kept you here long enough, I'll take the stopwatch."

Izuku gave one of his bright, warm smiles, "I-I don't mind at all! I can s-stay for another thirty minutes. D-Do you mind if I take some notes on your stance?"

Pyrrha nodded, eliciting a small smile from Izuku. The girl had incredible aim so he just had to take some notes from her style. It was just so… amazing. She had the kind of prowess he'd expect from an experienced Amazonian warrior. She had the kind of power the heroes from the stories would use to save people. She had the kind of skill he should study and learn from!

* * *

Izuku was jogging back home from Sanctum, the weekend calling for him to start modifying one of his weapons. Though that didn't mean he didn't enjoy today! He'd enjoyed the time with Pyrrha. Izuku took note of her footwork and how she seemed to snap onto her targets and would fire two consecutive rounds every time, the second always being used as a guarantee of the hit.

He took a few steps forward, going under a little bridge before he heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind him. He pivoted on his feet to be met with a man in a mask. A… white Grimm mask which would indicate he was a member of the White Fang.

A member. As in a singular person… Izuku eyed the man for a second before looking at the gun in his hands. It seemed to be a modified assault rifle, pointed right at him. The man's finger was away from the trigger, indicating he didn't intend to shoot the boy.

"Alright, kid! Let me tell you something simple! I've got a huntsman chasing me down so I'd prefer it if you walk along now!" the man said before giving an unnerving smile "Or maybe I'll use you as a hostage!"

Izuku pulled out two noise-cancelling earbuds and placed them in his ears. He masked his fear with confidence. Not confidence in himself but in the two gauntlets on his arms.

Without so much as a warning, Izuku activated Black Whip and slammed the tip right into the man's hand. The grip on the gun loosened as the man screamed in agony. A rubber bullet hurt like hell when moving at sonic speeds so if a rubber bullet hit you at Mach 3, there was little chance you wouldn't feel it.

The White Fang Member gave a masochistic grin, letting venom seep out of the corners. He clapped his hands, causing parts of the wall to come out and try and crush Izuku's torso. The man seemed to think that was enough to kill the boy, smirk showing that he saw his attack as the finishing moves.

Izuku, realising this was the work of a semblance, knew that the man was at least on the Aura scale. The boy reasoned that the semblance proved that the Fang member was strong enough to necessitate the higher end of Black Whip's force output. Well-actually-if-they-were-weaker-than-a-K-rating-he-might-need-to-hold-back-a-little-more.

The wire extended to max length in less than a second, four long wires of steel intimidating the fang member. He sprayed bullets at the White Fang member who, in turn, clapped his hands together. Izuku's fingers moved quickly, causing the whip to slam straight into the concrete that had been attempting to crush him. He'd previously hit the man at Mach 3, but this time, he hit the concrete at Mach 10. His target shattered under the force.

The White Fang member shook a little, ears hurting from the close proximity to a sonic boom. He tried attacking again only to face the same result. The dust cloud that erupted from each hit obscured his view.

Izuku cracked Black Whip at the man, slamming him into a wall. The attack was followed by three similar ones in quick succession. The actual damage he did should be enough to safely approach the man and apprehend him with the wire.

Coming out of the dust cloud, Izuku saw a battered but battle-ready Faunus inside a crater. He snaked the metal around the man's ankle releasing a quick flash of electricity to stun the man. Now in control of the fight, Izuku slammed his opponent in the walls around him, racking up damage onto the Aura shield.

The green-haired boy was about to finish the attack with a slam into the ground but he felt something rough around his feet. The sensation only lasted a second before the same thing pulled him back. He fell onto the floor and, realising that he was in a disadvantageous position, cracked his whip to scare off any attempts at close-quarters fighting. Black Whip and WMG worked best at any distance above three metres.

The cracks fell on deaf ears, given the number of sonic booms that had hit the masked man's unprotected ears. Izuku wrapped the wire around his opponent's neck, tugging on the wire. The man choked as he was strangled and thrown onto the ground next to the boy.

Izuku felt the ground below him start to rise up, "Aw, shoot!"

The boy extended two whips, digging them into one of the walls. He retracted the two whips, pulling himself off of the platform a few seconds before he would've been crushed. He rolled to the side, arms scraping on the concrete. It hurt a little but it was nowhere near the pain of Black Whip's hits. He got back onto his feet, standing straight as he removed the whips from the wall.

He extended all four whips for four attacks in quick succession. The attack was at Mach 9, resulting in four deafening booms. The attack acted as three things: a stun mechanism to try and stop the White Fang member with sheer pain, a deterrent to show that he was in control of the fight and, most importantly, a loud noise for any nearby huntsman to follow. He heard the noise through his earphones, causing a little bit of pain.

His opponent probably had it worse if the loud screams were anything to go by. Thankfully, the man could repair his hearing with Aura so Izuku wasn't doing any permanent damage. As long as they can repair their ears, the temporary debuff to their hearing could only be a positive thing.

"Hah! You bastard! You think a weak weapon like- Fuck!" The criminal was interrupted by the lash of Black Whip, causing an even louder scream and an even sharper sonic boom. The masochism seemed to have reached its limit given the cries seemed to be filled with more anguish.

Izuku saw bruises on the man's body, indicating that he had exhausted his opponent's aura. He retracted his whip slightly, knowing that any further attacks could be lethal. It relieved Izuku that he reached the end of the fight, causing him to think over the fight.

"You attacked me first, You could've just walked around me but you just had to cock your gun. You gave yourself away! Why haven't you even used your gun anyway?" Izuku asked, perplexed by the man's logic. If he was trying to evade the huntsmen after him, shouldn't stealth be his first objective?

The man seemed to hear him (much to Izuku's relief) and looked at the boy with hardened eyes. The criminal grabbed the modified AR and started spraying his bullets. They crossed the short distance between the two people at the speed of sound but Black Whip so much faster

The bullets silently struck the ground in front of Izuku, creating deep holes into the concrete. He made sure that the few bullets that could have hit him were smacked out of the air and ignored those that were off-target. The bullets kept raining upon him, despite the fact that they were proven ineffective beforehand.

Attempting to at least graze the boy before the cartridge was emptied, the man shifted his aim lower. He ran out of bullets only a few seconds later causing him to fumble to get the second cartridge. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fit the ammo in but he would fight until the bitter end!

The green-eyed boy took advantage of the masked man's momentary break by ripping the rifle out of the man's hand with Black Whip. With an unarmed opponent, Izuku knew that restraining would be the best way to end the fight. He extended a steel wire from his left arm and used it to restrain the White Fang Member.

When the mask fell off the terrorist's face, Izuku was a little surprised when he saw a young adult opposite him. Izuku was currently 15, two years away from his dream academy. The man being constricted opposite him was, at most, four years older. Hell, not even that given how he looked compared to some of the eldest students in Sanctum Academy.

Izuku sighed a little at the sight of a restrained opponent. The fight was loud, very loud. The numerous sonic booms and gunshots must have gained some attention so a huntsman was likely on the way. Mistral wasn't as oblivious to the crime rate as some of the other kingdoms would imply. It just had a large population to care about.

It was gradual but he could hear the thud of heavy yet quick footsteps. He hoped it was the huntsman from earlier but he had WMG, Black Whip and the element of surprise to defend him if it was someone more malicious. Even if they can move a hundred miles per hour, Black Whip could go at quadruple that without going to its maximum speed.

His hope wasn't misplaced and he distinctly heard a "Stop evil villain!" which indicated some kind of benevolent person. Izuku relaxed his stance, lowering WMG and retracting three of Black Whip's wires (the fourth still holding the White Fang Member to stop him from escaping.) Now that the hunter was here, he shouldn't need to use his weapons anymore.

"Excuse me! Are you a huntsman?" Izuku called out, tightening his whip when he felt some resistance. The hunter that was after the criminal must be pretty strong to induce this amount of fear. Could it be Qrow Branwen? He'd heard that the 'bad luck' semblance caused criminals to fear for their lives after an Atlesian bank robber was crushed by a grand piano. It could also be someone of incredible firepower like Enji Todoroki, the second most powerful huntsman! The man was nicknamed Endeavour due to his indomitable will to take on cases no one else would, Izuku would love to meet him if he was here.

He only had to wait for a second before a blue, white and red blur appeared right in front of him. The boy almost collapsed when he saw that iconic smile. His… His idol, Toshinori Yagi had appeared right in front of him… But didn't All Might, the nickname given to him by the media and the public, operate in Vale? It was the kingdom where the blonde's huntsman academy was located so he often stayed there during his career.

But that didn't matter, Toshinori Yagi, the Number One Huntsman, had appeared in front of him and Izuku had almost lost his balance, in front of his idol. Quickly picking himself back up, Izuku pulled the criminal towards him and held them in front of the goliath. It was only now that the huntsman nerd realised how imposing his idol could be, he was large and he was definitely powerful.

Yagi looked at the boy before looking at the apprehended villain and the destruction around him, "Did you do this? I thought that this villain had attacked you?"

Izuku scratched the back of his head, the imposing figure of Toshinori coupled with Izuku's reverence for the number one huntsman led to a stuttery, mumbly mess, "Oh, well, you see I-was-walking-back-home-when-I-heard-someone-cock-a-gun-behind-me-and-when-I-turned-around-this-guy-threatened-me. Because-I-had-my-weapons-on-me-at-the-time-I-was-able-to-take-care-of-him-easily…"

After hearing the rest of the mumble storm, Toshinori gave a hearty laugh, "I'm impressed, young man! Given that you have a weapon, am I right to assume you currently attend a combat school?"

Izuku nodded vigorously, "Y-Yes! I currently go to Sanctum Academy but I want to go to Beacon Academy b-because it's the place you went to!"

Yagi smiled, amused by the sight of an aspiring huntsman, "Always aim high, young man! You still have room to grow but I see the potential to be a great huntsman!"

Midoriya smiled brightly, "T-Thank you, Mr Yagi! I'll need to finish refining my weapons and my combat skills but, one day, I hope to be the world's first A-Auraless huntsman."

The blonde, in shock, blurted out, "You don't have an Aura! That's impossible!"

"Well, you see, I-I'm not completely auraless. My aura's just too weak to be seen on the Universal Aura Scale. M-My Aura lasts less than a minute if nothing touches me and maybe a few seconds at best if I want to move," Izuku explained, looking down at the ground in shame.

Toshinori's blood burst out of his mouth, "That weak? How did you apprehend this man?"

"A-are you okay? A lot of blood just came out of your mouth!" Izuku said before the huntsman wipes the blood away and gestures for him to answer the question, "I've made my weapons to even that out! Black Whip has a max speed of Mach 15 so it hurts like heck! And my Wrist Machine Guns use dust-infused bullets to do the real damage. I have a few more gadgets at home but these two are the most refined. I've made a sniper that has an 85% chance to penetrate Aura below a J-Rating, a pistol with experimental narcotic ammo for an instant knockout, a sticky grenade which can stick people to walls or the ground, I even have…"

Yagi continued smiling, feeling a sense of… nostalgia. This boy reminded him of someone he met long ago. The boy in front of him was a tech geek, an inventive scientist just like… David Shield. That man that had been his best friend for quite a while, in fact, they'd been so close he allowed David to design all of his costumes, even the one he was wearing right now! It was weird to see someone so similar to him.

"T-Toshinori, sir? You seemed to be in deep thought! I'm so sorry for interrupting!" the boy yelped, realising that he may have just annoyed his hero.

"It's okay, Young Midoriya! Whilst I don't endorse recklessly charging into fights or racing for unachievable dreams, you remind me of an old friend. Someone who wanted to be a huntsman but didn't have the aura to achieve it. Whilst he didn't have an Aura rating as… unique as your own, he had no combat ability…" Yagi said with a wistful smile, "So he turned to science and research, I believe you've heard of Mr David Shield."

Izuku's eyes popped out of his head, "Holy Woah, really? I'm honoured that I remind you of such an important figure in the science industry! Hey, didn't Professor Shield create your costume?"

"Yes, that's the one," Yagi gave a hearty laugh, "But, whilst David was unable to fight at a decent level, you seem to be a rather strong combatant! If this encounter was anything to go by, I'd say you have some skills. I believe you can beat the odds... I haven't asked you what your name is, right?"

"N-no you haven't! I'm-Izuku-Midoriya-by-the-way!" Izuku said before quickly repeating it in a slower voice, "Izuku Midoriya."

"Well, Young Midoriya, as a hunter you must go beyond your limits. As my old teacher used to say, Go beyond your limits! PLUS ULTRA!" The blonde finished with a pose to flex all of his muscles, "Now, crime never stops and a huntsman's job never truly ends! I expect to see you develop into something the world needs to inspire hope and peace! Enjoy your weekend, Young Midoriya!"

Izuku couldn't stop his face from splitting into a grin, "If you believe in me, I should try to make sure that this hope isn't misplaced!"

* * *

"Help! Someone call for a huntsman!" Izuku froze when he heard the deep shouts of a store owner nearby, "A group of Ursa are attacking a student!"

The boy was walking down one of the roads on the way home when he heard the cries for help. He broke into a sprint, not wasting a second of time which could be used to help the student. There was no way he was going to stand by and watch someone get killed.

"But how are they still alive?" Midoriya asked; an Ursa often went for the kill as soon as possible so there was only one reason that the student isn't dead yet, "They must be able to fight back!"

Izuku ran as close as he could to the scene, eyes widening as he realised who the student was. It was none other than… Pyrrha! But what was she doing here? And how was she still alive against eight Ursa Majors? She was still in her uniform, no armour to speak of so she must have been an amazing fighter to not have been killed by now!

Izuku thought back to his lessons about the Grimm power scale. There were four stages, each attained by staying in the dark for longer and longer amounts (which is where the Dark grading in the name came from.) Grimm could usually move from one stage to the next but each species of Grimm started at a certain level of Dark.

Dark One was the bottom of the barrel. The Grimm that the average person could kill due to their youth. Dark One Grimm could be taken down by your common civilian. Assuming each Grimm was at an average power level for its species, Dark One Grimm would be filled with Beowolves along with young Boarbatusk and all newborn Grimm. These Grimm were often used for studying and material grinding.

Dark Two was the next stage of power and was a step up in all categories. Dark Two Grimm were the ones that civilians should avoid but, if armed with the right weapons and with some training, they could defeat one in a long and hard fight. At this level, even I can take them down without too much. Examples would be Boarbatusk along with Ursa and young King Taijitu. These were often used to train Hunter Academy students. To be classed as one, a Grimm must be able to destroy large buildings if left to themselves.

Dark Three was the most common stage of power. Grimm of this level were strong enough to pose a challenge for Huntsmen. Death Stalkers, Nevermore and young Goliath were included in this category. To be classed as one, the Grimm must be capable of destroying a small town if left to themselves.

Dark Four was the most dangerous stage. The few Grimm that reach this level are things like ancient Nevermores, Goliath and numerous unique, potentially kingdom-ending Grimm that stayed in the dark for centuries. However, some have speculated that they may need to stay in the dark for nearly a millennium when talking about the strongest of the strongest. These were Grimm that could easily end cities whilst possibly being able to end an entire kingdom via their own strength.

If the Ursai were posing a threat to civilians, Izuku assumed they were Dark Two since a Dark Three should have killed the redhead especially if they were in a group. She couldn't fight every single one of them by herself, could she? The inventor needed to help her.

But...Could he? How much ammo does he have? He reloaded his WMG back at Sanctum and only fired ten on his right gauntlet during his last altercation, leaving him with 490 rounds left. The school used fire-dust bullets as standard so he could make use of his gauntlets against the Grimm.

Black Whip hit with a lot of blunt force and, even with the rubber tips at the end, he could hit with lethal force should it be needed. Dark Two Grimm shouldn't be able to walk away from numerous attacks from Black Whip. As fragile and delicate as Izuku was, he was a glass cannon: he hit hard and fast while dodging and blocking any attacks that were thrown at him.

Izuku extended all four Black Whip to its maximum length and set the hydraulics into its maximum strength. He placed two noise cancelling earbuds into his ear, advising everyone to cover their ears as he sprinted towards the Ursa. Pyrrha seemed to notice him and warned him to stay away.

Izuku froze for a second. Pyrrha... she didn't think he could handle it. Could he handle them? He shook those thoughts away, fear would only hinder him. But what was he going to do? He thought of his notes on Black Whip again, mind rushing through hundreds of scribbled sentences he'd written over the years.

Black Whip uses a mix of hydraulics, moments and a small impact area to inflict maximum force. That's why, out of all offensive applications of Black Whip, lashes are by far the most destructive and painful. It's the loudest and definitely the least stealthy approach but, when it comes to a face-to-face battle, stealth can be thrown out the window for sheer power and Black Whip will definitely deliver sheer power.

That note seemed to be the most appropriate for the situation so he followed through, preparing all four whips to inflict maximum damage. One of the Grimm seemed to notice him, no turning back now!

He struck the Ursa with the wires from his right hand. The deafening noise was accompanied by the implosion of the closest Ursa's two legs before they flew off of the main body. The crowd was in awe at the sheer power of Izuku's weapon, everyone's eyes glued to him. It wasn't just the audience, the Grimm all glared at him, attention moving from Pyrrha to him. Izuku channelled all of his confidence into the coming battle, remembering all of his notes and keeping them in the back of his mind.

Given that I've been able to add motion controls to Black Whip, it's only natural that I can do some attacks and manoeuvres that are relatively hard to do with your standard whip. Two of these are throws and slams (I'll include both in the same section due to their similarities.) By wrapping the wires around the target, I can usually swing them into the environment around me. This is most useful in fights with opponents that are bigger than I am, stronger than I am and faster than I am. It's also the manoeuvre with the greatest area of effect since I can throw them into other opponents. In short, it's a great follow up to a previous attack when I've inflicted enough damage to warrant switching focus.

The two whips from his left bracer wrapped around the two remaining legs of the Ursa Major and lifted it into the air. Ceasing the Grimm's surprise at being lifted, Izuku slammed it into one of the other Ursai headfirst. He then activated his right arm's Black Whip and struck both in the skull, causing the head to almost implode on itself. He struck repeatedly until he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, the Grimm was dead.

Whilst I don't like using it, choking is probably the most stealthy and least lengthy takedown, the main reason I don't like it is that it's too easy to accidentally kill someone. If you do it too tight, you'll accidentally crush the windpipe and jugular veins. If you do it for too long, you might pass the knockout zone and go into the murder threshold. Yet, if you choke with a loose grip, you're wasting time. Thankfully, I can usually feel all of the vibrations through Black Whip so the chances of this are unlikely but I don't want to risk it against a fellow human (or Faunus, for that matter.). Against the Grimm, killing them is necessary so self-imposed restrictions don't matter..

To make sure he wasn't underestimating the Grimm, Izuku tightened Black Whip around their necks, tightening it enough for him to rip the head off the Ursa's torso. He slammed the disembodied heads into the ground, causing mini craters to appear on the ground. Izuku was surprised when he heard the people around him roar in delight. Had he really been that good? He thought that he was an amateur at best.

Him thinking that just proved he was an amateur. Pros would never lose concentration or doubt themselves. In fact, a pro would keep track all of the Grimm no matter how many were in front of them and never let themselves lose sight. The paw that was swung at him broke him out of the thoughts about not breaking out of his thoughts. Izuku looked up at the Grimm in front of him, his mind flashed to his notes again.

I always keep Black Whip on me for one specific reason. It is practically an unbreachable shield. Punches, kicks, paw swipes and bites along with most weapons can easily be parried and countered. But why do that when you can snatch the weapon right out of their hands? Black Whip is essential to my person because of that defence, nothing can get through it no matter what. Hell, it has saved me from countless trips and falls. I remember one time where...

The rest of the notes were mainly rambling about the time Izuku was about to fall onto a steel pipe head first but quickly pushed off of the ground to save himself but that's beside the point. The point was that Black Whip was the most versatile weapon of his because it was a relentless offence and a near-impenetrable defence! The metal wires around the paw, allowing him to use the momentum to throw the Ursa like a ragdoll.

I remember a long time ago, I read about a hero who would use synthetic webbing as a grappling hook and general traversal. This idea inspired me to try and implement the idea into Black Whip. This manoeuvre is the main reason I implemented motion controls and created a quick retracting system. I just extend the whip, embed it or wrap it on something and retract.

Izuku wrapped Black Whip around the neck of the Ursa in front of him, tightening it for a good grip. He then retracted it, pulling him towards the shadowy demon as he sprayed the Grimm with rounds before he landed onto the back of Grimm's neck. With a solid grip on the bear's back, Izuku pulled apart Ursa's jaw with two wires, pulling the lower jaw completely off of the skull, before shoving his arms inside its mouth. WMG opened fire, releasing flaming shrapnel into the Ursa's insides.

Impaling is, by far, the hardest attack to do. You have to shoot through the flesh of the Grimm (because it will only ever be used on the Grimm) but make sure you stop before you hurt any innocents behind them. If I'm in an area with a lot of civilians, it'd be a good idea to impale the enemy before wrapping around the enemy to minimise the chances of accidental deaths. It does look cool though, if given space, it's not a bad move to use.

Izuku impaled the soulless creature with Black Whip before pulling the wires back out and jumping off of the Grimm. Izuku wrapped two more wires around the waist of the Ursa and tossed it into another Grimm. As soon as the two Ursai's bodies were in line, Izuku stabbed all four whips straight into them, snaking around the insides to gain a grip on leg bones. Izuku pulled hard, dislocating bones and immobilizing both Ursa's legs.

One of the Grimm seemed to be out of the fight after the removal of bones but the other seemed like it could still fight. Izuku decided to eliminate the weakened Ursa with several lashes at mach 15. The strikes shattered a couple of bones, making it so that some of the more valuable loot was broken beyond repair but Izuku couldn't care less.

Izuku threw the bag of shadowy flesh and bone into the more threatening Grimm. This didn't seem to do much damage since the shadowy demon batted the corpse away with a paw. The Ursa powered through the pain in its legs, standing on all fours and preparing to strike with a poised paw.

Izuku knew that he'd need all of his available power to survive this fight. He aimed WMG at the bear whilst still prepping Black Whip for as many strikes that he could get in. Izuku started spraying bullets, slowing down the Grimm for a few seconds. As soon as the Grimm got into Black Whip's range, Izuku struck as fast he could and as many times as possible.

The sonic booms bled into each other. Dozens upon dozens of strikes hitting the Ursa. The Grimm tanked through the attacks, getting closer and closer to Izuku causing him to start worrying a little. His attacks seemed to be causing pain but there was no damage being done. With the proof of the Grimm's durability, Izuku was sure that he was facing a Dark Three.

Black Whip was powerful as a melee weapon, some people and certain Grimm could tank the attacks, even at max speeds. As much as I love the idea of 'it's also a gun,' WMG already covers that front so I had to think of something else and what's a better replacement to a gun than a taser? Other than a crossbow or something… But, I made Black Whip a taser by creating a small tank of Lightning Dust that will release electricity from the main wires. This is mainly useful for lashes, grabs and impaling.

Wait, had he restocked his dust supplies? He was meant to do that tomorrow! How much dust does he have? The canister that Black Whip used could only output power for a total of five minutes on a full canister. He had a tenth of his total dust capacity so he had thirty seconds of electrical output.

Izuku impaled all four whips into the sides. He dug them deep into the Ursa's body and released his electricity. The surge of electricity was powerful, stunning the Ursa in place. WMG's supporting fire started causing actual damage to the Ursa, if the roars of pain were any indication.

Another Grimm seemed to notice its teammate's struggle, charging towards Izuku with one paw poised for a swipe. Within a second, the green-haired boy changed his strategy. Cutting the electricity flow, Izuku used his grip on the Dark Three Grimm to swing it around and slam it into the Ursa that had been charging towards him.

The collision sent the new Ursa flying away so that Izuku could put all of his focus on the Dark Three Grimm. He pulled one of Black Whip's long metal wires out of Ursa's main body and jammed it into the head. The wire was unable to break through the Grimm's skull, likely due to how damn tough a Dark Three Grimm's bones are so Izuku had to change strategies.

Keeping two wires in the Dark Three's body to try and keep it in place, the boy dug the rest of his wires into the Grimm that had charged at him a few seconds earlier. With a tug of the wrist, Izuku pulled several bones out of that Grimm and swung them into the shoulder of the Dark Three. The bones shattered on contact but he could tell that he caused some damage given the grunt of pain that came from the shadow demon.

With that plan down, Izuku only had one option left. The boy used his wires to try and restrict the limbs as tightly as possible. Restricting the bear's limbs, the boy only had to worry about the mouth which he quickly shut tight with his second-to-last wire. Finally making sure he had nothing to worry about, Izuku used the Grimm as a battering ram to kill his incapacitated opponents.

With a single still-living creature, Izuku swung his only free wire into the Grimm's flesh at max force, breaking the sound barrier every few seconds. He'd hit as hard as he could, as fast as he could and with as much force as he could put in but the Grimm could still endure it all with little more than pained roars. Focusing mainly on the head, Izuku pushed as hard as he could to kill it and had only one plan in mind that had any chance of ending the battle.

Izuku dug into the Dark Three Grimm's thighs and pulled at the tibia as hard as he could. The bone was being pulled rather hard but it never came out. Maybe, he needed another wire? He removed the wire around the Ursa's jaw so it could be used to try and pull the tibia out of the leg.

It was a success, thankfully, but Izuku's plan was completely disrupted when the Grimm suddenly... popped? It just burst with wind pressure rushing through and taking Izuku with it. The inventor tried to stop himself by grappling the buildings to his sides but he was going too fast for that to do any good.

He would've been fated to a quick, painless death had a strong hand not caught him in the air. As soon as he felt the arms, the boy stopped in his tracks with the feeling of an abrupt stop shaking him slightly. It took him a few seconds before he could remember that he was just saved from a near-inevitable death by... All Might, he should have known from the air pressure.

"T-Thanks, All Might!" Izuku said, ignoring the fact that he was sent flying because of Toshinori. Then again, since All Might caught him out of the air, that was neither here nor there.

"You are very welcome, Young Midoriya!" All Might responded with a cheerful grin.

Izuku looked over Toshinori's shoulders, several dozen metres away from Pyrrha and the final Ursa. The blonde seemed to notice this since, only a few seconds later, he was back where he was fighting a minute earlier. He fell out of the huntsman's arms, barely landing on his feet, and checked how Pyrrha was doing.

When he turned to her, he expected her to have defeated all of them in the time it took him to defeat the group he fought. Had he overestimated her or had he underestimated himself? It was probably the latter since even he was aware of his lack of self-confidence. Well, that didn't exactly describe it: he didn't look down on himself but he knew there were many that were so much more than him.

He'd started watching a few seconds before Pyrrha finally finished off the final Grimm with a slash to the neck that beheaded the creature. Izuku couldn't help but squeal at how epic the redhead looked. If it wasn't for his awkwardness, the boy would love to ask where she had learned how to fight like that since Sanctum, as great as it was, didn't have students as cool as that (excluding Pyrrha herself of course.)

As soon as she sheathed her sword, Izuku walked over. Even if he wouldn't ask where she learnt her skills from, Izuku would at least say hi, maybe even ask why the Grimm fought her. He summoned up a little bit of courage to actively interact with another person but it seemed that Pyrrha had already noticed his presence.

The girl was confused, it was practically written on her face. After all, an innocent little boy did not suddenly become a one-man army. Had she underestimated Izuku's battle prowess? The boy didn't seem like much back at the shooting range but here… he may have been able to challenge her title as 'the invincible girl' (and she really hoped he'd do so soon.)

"Izuku, I didn't know you could fight this well?" Pyrrha said with a bright grin, "I'm sorry for underestimating you! I didn't think you could take down the Dark Two but I certainly didn't expect you to beat a Dark Three! Have you thought of entering the Mistral Fighters Tournament."

Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "W-Well, I'm not actually that strong. It's just that my weapon, Black Whip, is a little more… developed, I guess? It was one of the first weapons I invented and have been refining and improving it ever since. It's the one weapon I never leave behind. It could turn anybody into an unstoppable fighter."

Pyrrha smiled at the boy's humility, "Well, you're the one who created it and gave it this strength. In my opinion, you should wield the weapons you've created... unless you decide to share that power with others."

Izuku smiled at that notion but a little thought crept up in his head, "Well… I-Isn't it kind of selfish for me to not s-share my power with others?"

The amazonian warrior gave him a reassuring smile, "Power can corrupt Izuku. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. You have a lot of power, Izuku, but you seem as pure as a newborn baby. No offence intended of course."

The boy nodded, looking down at the ground in contemplation, "None taken. I was born without power and created it myself. Would that mean I am… purer than others? T-Though that sounds a little too pretentious. Gaining power should make me gain corruption, even if I wasn't born with it. This would make the saying useless… n-not that I-"

A gut feeling erupted and Izuku's mind screamed at him to act. Izuku didn't know what exactly to look for so he started spinning Black Whip at max speed, making sure to cover every part of him with the speeding wires. It elicited a yelp from Pyrrha but the technique proved useful as he heard the distinct noise of a bullet hitting the cement. Izuku picked the bullet up with Black Whip before intentionally swinging the bullet at Mach 10 into the ground.

The noise that came from the bullet completely outclassed the sound of the guns that were fired at him. He heard some sputtering from the crowd as a quartet of people with Grimm masks walked, somewhat hesitantly, towards him. Wait, they looked familiar! Didn't he fight someone wearing the same mask today?

The quartet raised their weapons, readying themselves for battle. Given that the White Fang member from before was pretty unskilled, Izuku was pretty sure that his underlings weren't going to be much better. Though, he wasn't sure he could attack them. After all, if that member was only a couple years older than him, his underlings were probably the exact same age as the green-haired boy and Izuku didn't know how to feel about that.

A member took one step forward and Izuku acted. Restricting himself to an attack at Mach 4. The whip cut through the air, smashing through the aura of that member and causing them to stumble to the side. He maneuvered the wire to snake around the attacker's ankle in order to capture them within the wires.

His plan had been disrupted when a red and blue streak quickly grabbed the four villains and placed them next to a wall. Toshinori Yagi lined them up, giving the criminals a second to think about their actions before knocking each one out with a single punch. They crumpled to the ground, unable to hurt anybody due to their lack of consciousness.

Izuku smiled at the hero, though he was surprised that he hadn't acted sooner, "Thanks, All Might!"

The huntsman gave a hearty laugh, "It's quite alright, Young Midoriya! It appears that your last battle wasn't a fluke at all! HAHAHAHA!"

Izuku couldn't help but laugh a little as well. Being complimented by his idol caused him to feel a little giddy. He'd done it! He'd finally, finally proven to someone that he deserved to be a huntsman. He'd proven he could fight well! He had proven that he could defeat the Grimm even without his aura and that was a special thing for Izuku.

Izuku felt a heavy finger poke his shoulder, "Young Midoriya, once the press leaves, could you wait here for a bit? There's something I wanted to ask you about."

* * *

Izuku sat on the bench, waiting for Toshinori to finish off the press interviews. He'd been sitting here for around ten minutes and, in that time, he's not really done much. Sure, in the first few minutes, he and Pyrrha gave a quick interview to the press and he'd learned that Pyrrha was some sort of celebrity. That fact took a minute or so given the girl's humble nature and interest in speaking to him, him, of all people.

But, after Pyrrha said she needed to go home, Izuku was stuck sitting around until the interview was over. Watching the flesh of the Grimm become nothing more than dust was at least somewhat interesting but they disappeared in a few minutes and left nothing but bone. Now, he could do nothing but bask in his hero's presence, which wasn't something he minded in all honesty.

The interviews seemed to be wrapping up, causing Izuku to look at Toshinori in case he forgot that he told Izuku to stay behind. The blonde hadn't forgotten since a minute after the talk was over, the bulky, muscular man sauntered over to him and gestured for the boy to follow. He trailed behind him as quickly as possible.

"Young Midoriya, I have a question for you. Would you mind if I asked?" Yagi asked with an encouraging smile.

"Of course you can ask me a question, Toshinori sir. It's not like I keep any secrets," Izuku smiled, cheerful that he was talking to the huntsman.

"Thank you, Young Midoriya! I just wanted to ask where you make your weapons?" All Might asked, throwing Izuku off. Had Mr Yagi waited that long just to ask that one question?

"I make them myself at Sanctum Academy… Why do you ask?"

"I see. But, doesn't Sanctum have a rather lackluster tech lab? I'm sure it spent more of its budget on combat refinement, am I right?"

"Well, yes, but I've managed. Not every scientist was born with a million lien lab to experiment in. I've always admired when people can overcome the situation they were born in and become something great,"

"HAHA! That's a rather understandable view given your aura's situation. But, you must remember that once they proved themselves to the world, they earned that lab or at least the chance to prove themselves at that lab. That's why I have an offer for you."

Izuku looked at Toshinori with a look of elation. Was… was his dream coming true? Is this the day he had been waiting for? Was he going to get…

"I want to vouch for you to get an internship at Shield Labs. Maybe even vouch for an I-Island Academy scholarship. They do count as a Combat School, you know!" All Might said with a wide grin, "I was already planning to go there during the end-of-year break. I wouldn't mind someone coming along with me."

"W-What, really? What about my mother? She wouldn't let me move to an island in the Free Banks without someone going with me," Izuku started worrying a little. As great of an opportunity as this might be, Izuku wouldn't take it over his mother's happiness.

"Hold your horses, kid! Just go to I-Island for a holiday and, when you're there, prove yourself to I-Island's leaders. Make an invention of some kind or a cool gadget and WHAM, you're in the fast lane to being a huntsman!" All Might said, karate-chopping the air as he finished.

"T-this sounds great, Toshinori sir… But why do you even care? Most people say that I should just go to develop weapons for other people. Why don't you? I mean, you must've been born with an incredible Aura, right?"

All Might's mind started racing. He couldn't tell the aspiring boy that someone gave him his strength! Maybe he could spin the story that he had a below-average aura and cultivated it into something strong. Yeah, channel all of his bright, charming confidence into an inspiring speech of growth!

"Actually, what am I saying?" Izuku interrupted Toshinori's thought process, "You've always vouched for people to become heroes and save those that didn't have the power to save themselves. I'm sorry for questioning your ideals, All Might!"

The blonde sweatdropped. I mean, that speech was more about making people join combat schools because of the increasing Grimm population. But, as long as he didn't need to spill any secrets, any explanation was a good explanation. All Might thanked the boy's huntsman worship for letting him evade the question.

"Yes, young Midoriya! I believe I've said before that anyone can be a hero as long as they have the heart to help others," Toshinori flashed a final grin, "Now, go home! Your mother wouldn't appreciate you coming home late!"

"Yes, Sir!"


	2. I-Island Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku hangs out with a friend and heads to I-Island, the next step on his journey of becoming a huntsman.
> 
> Just in case people haven't realised, Izuku doesn't know about All Might's weaker form but does know his identity as Toshinori Yagi. He isn't All Might's successor so he doesn't have a reason to know about OFA. Whether he'll learn about it later on or not, doesn't affect the plans I have too much.
> 
> BTW, I don't own or use firearms of any kind. Anything that's mentioned in this fanfic about tranquiliser pistols is something that I've learnt from this youtube video ( watch?v=YNxrNclaNqw.) Also, the tranquiliser gun is similar to the MK.22 Hush Puppy from MGS (a fictional gun, mind you.) This gun won't be an instant knockout but, because I have a little artistic license available, I'm going to make it a quick (45s or less) knockout. It isn't a Deus Ex Machina but it is useful.

Izuku and Pyrrha stood near the shooting range with several of Izuku's weapons with them. The inventor had brought some of his weapons to showcase his inventive skills to someone other than his mother, especially because Pyrrha had asked about them the day before. The only person to ever show interest in his creations was his mother, and even then, he knew it was only because she was his mother.

"So. how does this handgun work again?" Pyrrha asked, looking down the suppressor of Izuku's hefty pistol, "It looks like a regular gun to me."

Izuku smiled a little, rotating the gun and removing the ammunition cartridge. He pulled one of the short darts out of the pistol. As hard as he tried to manufacture his own bullets with a custom narcotic in it, he had neither the resources or time to create a large number of bullets. Instead, he used a dart which consisted of a two-centimetre-long needle with a four-centimetre-long canister of red liquid along with a small centimetre-long brush.

"Well, these darts here have an experimental drug I've been refining for a while. You know how people can usually use their aura to detect and block any external damage, right? Well, they can usually do that to internal threats like harmful drugs or chemicals. That's why doctors would try to keep their patients calm to avoid the patient activating their Aura shield instinctually and wasting medicine. After all, children needed to be vaccinated and we can't have them erase it by accident," Izuku pointed at the small canister on the dart, raising the red liquid to his eye, "Because of that, this weapon works best when the target doesn't have their shield up so the sedative is uninterrupted. I've been trying to make this gun hit with enough force to pierce an aura shield and have been edging closer and closer to that goal. I've been able to inject the needle through aluminium, copper, bronze and even a few steel alloys so it should be able to penetrate a L-rating shield and weaker."

Pyrrha looked at him with a bemused look, "And, what about the people you can't pierce through? Isn't your tranquiliser weapon completely useless?"

Izuku gave her a bright, sheepish smile, "Well, yes, I guess it is. I've been trying to increase power in various ways to avoid that issue. I've experimented with using different firing mechanisms for the handgun. I've modified the tranquilliser gun to use refined air dust as well as the gunpowder it usually uses to push the dart slightly faster than it normally could. Secondly, I've been incorporating gravity dust into the needle to increase mass thus increasing force and pressure. I'm going to need to refine the needle a little more but, for now, the weapon is good enough to be used against most human targets. As soon as the needle is in, I just need to wait for a minute and then they're down for the count."

The redhead removed a bullet from her rifle as well, comparing the two ammunition types, "Your darts are rather long compared to my rifle ammo and much longer than your standard 9mm bullet. Why did you make the needle so long?"

Izuku pointed at the small silicon piece on the needle, "Well, you see, to inject the drug into the bloodstream, it needs to spray the liquid into the bloodstream. In the canister, the pressure is pretty high so, if that silicon piece gets pulled back a little, the liquid will burst out. My supply is really limited so I've used a smaller amount of the narcotic to avoid accidentally wasting it. In these needles, there's a common sedative used for animals around the 60-kilogram range."

The boy offered the dart in his hand so Pyrrha took it for closer inspection. She asked for permission to pull the silicon piece back, interested in seeing how the dart works in practice. Izuku gave her a thumbs up, allowing her to pull the silicon back slowly. The liquid erupted out quickly, causing her to stumble backwards in surprise.

"You can keep the dart if you want, they look really cool in my opinion," Izuku offered before going back to explaining his weapon, "Because animals have died from being oversedated, I've been trying to keep the mortality rate as low as possible. For one, I'm making my own sedative slightly dynamic in how it works. The dart will release the weaker sedative (enough to knock out a 50 kg human) as soon as the dart penetrates the skin. After forty-seconds, a more potent sedative (enough to knock out an 80 kg human) will be released. Whilst the first sedative will act surreptitiously, avoiding detection from the target's aura, the second should be detected by the aura and thus targeted by the Aura."

"And, what does that do?" the redhead scratched the back of her head, "If the second sedative is targeted by the target's aura, it's nullified. But, you bypassed that somehow, didn't you, Izuku?"

"Of course I did, Pyrrha!" Izuku had made sure that his narcotic could work in as many scenarios as possible, "The second sedative is durable and can handle the Aura trying to flush it out for around two minutes. As soon as it reaches the brain, it'll cause the target to collapse. After those two minutes pass, it'll be weakened enough to allow the Aura to clean it out. This means that, as long as I didn't use the tranquiliser on someone like myself with an extremely weak aura, I can avoid fatal doses.

"So, Izuku, how long will your sedative work for?" Pyrrha was extremely curious now. The boy's description of the weapon seemed to imply it works for a few minutes at most, not very long in her humble opinion. Despite that, he seemed so excited to share his weapon with Pyrrha that the least she could do was let him continue.

"It works for three minutes or more depending on how strong the aura is and how fast it'll clean itself up. People with regeneration abilities will be able to wake up three minutes after the sedative hits their brain. It may seem short but it's enough time for me to capture them with Black Whip, tie them up with a rope or just sneak around them. Also, as a stealth weapon, having unconscious bodies hang around for longer than ten minutes is just asking for people to find out and become suspicious," the inventor reasoned before slamming the ammunition cartridge back into the handgun, "On the other hand, I've also been trying to make a sniper which stops someone's aura from protecting them for an hour or more. On my Shield-Disrupting Sniper, it works around 85% of the time targets weaker than the J-Rating so it's reliable against a lot of targets. Anything over that and the probability drops by roughly ten percent per rating. The only redeeming factor is that the bullet uses a special technique to pierce through the aura and do a decent amount of damage to their total aura.

"Those are pretty good odds, aren't they?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow when Izuku sounded a little saddened by his results, "Until the M-Rating, you have over a 50% chance to disable their shield. Those are great odds, especially if it means that a success completely cripples an opponent."

The corner of Izuku's lips raised a little, "Yeah, but that isn't good enough. Leaving anything to chance is a bad idea and, if those chances fail, I've wasted my resources. If I don't stop their aura flow, they can easily regenerate from the bullet. I'll either cripple them or give them a love tap and give away my location."

"Resources are valuable but I'm sure that your shield disrupting rounds can't cost that much. And anyway, even if you don't disrupt the Aura, your target still has to waste some time for regeneration. You seem a little too down despite developing revolutionary technology," she said with a smile on her lips. Seeing Izuku be sad made her feel a little protective, if only because he was her first friend in a long, long time.

"I mean, sure, I'm crafting technology that would make some religions hunt me down as a heretic. Sure, it works and all but it still isn't ready for a battle. I mean, imagine what would happen if I end up being unlucky and every shot failed - not very revolutionary if you ask me,"

Izuku added before scratching the back of his head, "That and the fact that the SDS is a bolt-action rifle with a maximum of five rounds. I might make a semi-automatic variant if I make more rounds but, I really don't see the purpose until I can either create more rounds or create more effective rounds… I've been talking about my weapons for a long time. What about yours, Pyrrha?"

The redhead smiled, "Sure, Izuku. I don't know what to say though; my weapon is way less interesting than your armoury!"

"I-I mean, it's not that interesting..." Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "A lot of my weapons are experimental so they're really only small projects. I mean, what do you do with a revolver with a mini grenade launcher or EMP bullets?"

"Well, if I had a revolver with a mini grenade launcher, I could fire a grenade and shoot it out of the air for controlled explosions. I could distract Grimm from attacking civilians and could destroy any debris that falls near said civilians. The EMP bullets can be used to shoot down cameras and kill rogue drones because Atlas is Atlas and they're going to be hacked sooner or later.," the Spartan-like warrior said, pulling her sword and shield from their holster, "Stop selling yourself short, Miló and Akoúo̱ are much less versatile. Sure, Miló can change between a sword, a javelin and a rifle but most weapons can shift between states."

"Y-Yeah, okay. But, you know that most weapons only shift between two forms so your weapon is special," Izuku said with a grin, "And, only a great marksman could shoot a grenade or a camera or a drone out of the air. My gadgets are wasted on me but I don't want to give other people my gadgets, I'm pathetic!"

"Then make sure they aren't wasted!" Pyrrha said, sheathing her sword and shield, "Make sure that you use your weapons to the best of your abilities. If you need to be a good marksman, train to become a good marksman. If you need to become faster and more athletic, push yourself to become faster and more athletic. No one knows your arsenal as well as you do. Hell, if you could keep your entire arsenal on you, you can handle every situation that comes to you. You want to be the very first Auraless huntsman, Izuku. And, even if I didn't believe you could before, I definitely believe you now."

"W-What! Y-you… You believe in me!" Izuku felt a few tears start falling out, "Oh my god! Other than Toshinori Yagi, you're the strongest person I've ever met. Do you really think that?"

"O-Of course, I do. Even if I may be stronger than you right now, you progress faster than I've ever been able to. Just look at your shooting range times; you've cut down ten seconds from the shooting range scores in just two weeks whilst I've only scraped away a few seconds," Pyrrha chuckled a little when her friend blushed from the praise, "And, most importantly, you have the heart of a huntsman. You want to save people and use your brain to achieve it. Everyone is born with the illusion of power and has been living with that illusion for their entire life. You, Izuku Midoriya, don't have that illusion. You don't think you have power, you know you have power."

Izuku's tears went from a few drops to pouring out like a waterfall, causing Pyrrha to take a step back. The redhead always wondered why the boy drank so much water and never seemed bloated or delirious. That water seemed to come out in this waterfall of tears. In fact, she thought that he was crying more water than he drank. That wasn't possible, was it? How often did he cry?

Pyrrha let him cry his eyes out, offering the occasional 'it's okay' and 'I believe you.' The girl didn't see why Izuku felt so powerless; he was powerful enough to defeat the Dark Three Ursa Major so his ego and confidence should be through the roof yet it was barely above the ground. The tears sparked some kind of protectiveness from her, despite the girl knowing that the inventor was more than capable of protecting himself.

Izuku sniffled a little, tears starting to dry up, "Thanks, Pyrrha! You don't know how much that meant to me! First All Might, then you! It's like… It's like everything was worth it. Not having an aura made me think that I'd never been able to become a huntsman, a… a. hero. But now, people are putting faith in my ideas. It makes me hope that I can turn my dream into a reality!"

"If anyone can turn their dreams into a reality, it's you," Pyrrha patted him on the back, "So anyway, school is almost over. You said that something interesting is going to happen over the holidays. You haven't elaborated."

"Yep, remember when Toshinori Yagi told me to stay back after the Ursa fight?" Izuku asked with a giddy tone, "Well, he said that he may try and help me get onto I-Island. With the resources that they have over there, I can easily enhance my weapons. Hell, I might be able to make some of my more expensive ideas like my SDS without having to keep the budget in check. I might even be able to create my custom narcotic there. I might not be able to come back though..."

"I think that the advantages might justify that," the redhead's lips curled upwards slowly, "I-Island might just be the edge you need to become the huntsman you want to be. The best way for you to become stronger is to make better technology. If that means you need to move to another continent, you should move to that continent."

The giddiness in Izuku's voice returned, "Even if I stay at I-Island's combat school, I'll eventually return to Mistral to enrol into Haven Academy, we'll meet each other again."

"Actually, I was hoping to go to Beacon Academy in Vale. Some of the most proficient huntsmen and huntresses ever came over from Beacon," Pyrrha said with a small smile, "I doubt it'd be hard for you to enter, Izuku. You've already come this far, why not go the extra mile?"

"Sure. If you're going to Beacon, that's where I'm going as well," Izuku holstered the tranquiliser gun, "That is if you want me to join you."

Izuku felt a hand ruffle his hair, "Of course I do. So make sure you come back to me, alright? When I get into Beacon, I want my friend to be there to support me!"

Izuku nodded, "Why wait until Beacon? Whilst I'm on I-Island, I might be able to create some custom tools for you. If you request certain enhancements for your weapon, I wouldn't mind building them for you."

"Thanks, Izuku. I'll tell you if I think of any ideas," Pyrrha racked her brain to see if she needed anything, "But my current weapons are rather effective, don't you think?"

"O-Of course! I-didn't-mean-to-offend-you-or-your-weapons. They have a triple mecha-shift, impressive when you realise that few have ever tried to make a weapon that switches between more than two forms-" Izuku was interrupted by a hug from Pyrrha.

"Calm down. Izuku! I was just saying I think my weapon is good and was hoping for you to give me some ideas to make it better. Not everyone is here to make you go through some mental gymnastics," Pyrrha's embrace caused Izuku to shut up.

It had been the first time she'd hugged him but she'd heard the boy mutter for nearly an hour whenever she triggered the mumble storm, especially when she had mentioned he had an above-average physique. The boy needed a bit of a confidence boost every now and then. Wait, did this even boost his confidence? He never really made physical contact with anyone during the two weeks she'd known him. Did he even like hugs?

"O-Oh! W-Well, c-can y-you put me down, now?" Izuku's cheeks heated up given the proximity to Pyrrha's chest, "A-And if you wanted me to improve Milo, you could've said so. First off, I would…"

* * *

Two weeks later, Izuku stretched his arms as he stepped off of the airbus, armed to the teeth with various inventions on his person. It was a long ride from Mistral to I-Island but Izuku had no time for jet lag. He was an inventor on I-Island: the time that he spent on the island was the same time that he would use to prove himself to the academy's elites.

The boy looked behind him and saw Toshinori Yagi and his mother talking about his sleeping habits and the boy's tendency to talk to his weapons. All Might had introduced himself to Izuku's mother when he handed the tickets over and the two had talked a few times, though it was almost always about Izuku. His mother seemed elated by the fact that Toshinori Yagi, the Number One Huntsman famous for his incredible strength and heroism, saw potential in him.

All Might stayed in one of the first-class cabins, staying in one of the private suites. Izuku assumed that the older huntsman used his privacy to try and hide away from the media and the like but he was slightly confused when almost no-one approached the cabin. It seemed the flight did everything it could to ensure the Number One Huntsman's flight was as quiet as possible.

The inventor couldn't help but blush just a little when his mother started bringing up some of his older weapons. When he was younger, the boy was fascinated by big guns and heavy weapons (as many seven-year-olds are) and had been determined to make an amalgamation of heavy artillery. If it was a cool looking heavy weapon, it was included. From rocket launchers, machine guns, snipers, flamethrowers to a Gatling gun and even a howitzer, nothing was left behind. Was it plausible? Maybe not. But when had plausibility stopped him before?

"He keeps it in his room behind a glass case. The thing is too heavy to be taken around with him, it'd probably be just the thing that you could use!" Inko squealed as her son's cheeks heated up a little more, "I've seen some blueprint to try and dismantle the weapon into a modular weapon. I believe he called it 'Pandora's box' because he thought it held some of the most destructive weapons in the world. It was adorable, I tell you. Adorable!"

Izuku was about to try and defend his weapons when All Might burst into a hearty laugh, gaining the attention of various onlookers. Understandably amazed that they had seen All Might in person, the people asked for autographs for either themselves or a family member. Though it took several minutes, the blonde got through them all with a constant smile on his face.

"Uncle Might!" a female voice cried out in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Izuku turned around to see a blonde girl hop above a flight of stairs on what appeared to be a red pogo stick. The boy watched as the blonde hopped down the steps, five steps per bounce before she hopped off of the pogo stick and landed into All Might's outstretched arms. Yagi swung her around before pulling the girl into a tight embrace.

"Melissa! It's been a while, hasn't it?" All Might put the blonde town and look behind her, "Where's David? I haven't seen him for quite a while!"

"Dad's back in his lab. He's making a gadget specifically for you. I don't know what he's making but he's dead set on creating this tool!" the blonde rushed before quickly asking, "But seriously, what are you doing here? You haven't come here in years! Why the sudden visit?"

"Hahaha, well you know! I've been keeping in touch with David for a long time," the man scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I was hoping to catch up in person and then this boy over here showed up. I decided that if I go, I should help someone with the potential to do good here so he came with me."

Melissa raised an eyebrow, "So, who is he? He must be something important if you chose him to come with you."

Izuku blushed a little when a girl he'd never met thought he was important. I mean, sure, he made some impressive weapons but that was really it. Hell, did this girl even know that he was an inventor? Did she know what he was like? What was her judgement based on?

"HAHAHA! Young Midoriya's rather socially awkward. I suppose his muttering is rather creepy but he's a fine man when you get to know him," All Might pat Midoriya on the head, "He's a rising inventor who wants to become a huntsman. I thought it would be a good idea to give him a chance. Throw him a bone, ya know!"

Izuku went a rather deep red, both from his own subconscious muttering and from the praise. He really needed to stop muttering like that. When he finally got into Beacon, he was sure that would scare fellow classmates. Though that was unlikely, the boy knew that the other people in Beacon would either bully him or ostracise him; it was how others usually treated his auraless condition. He was thankful that the teachers in Sanctum were somewhat accepting of him, or at least interested in the anomaly that he was.

Melissa seemed to find the reason good enough for her to introduce herself to Izuku, "My name is Melissa Shield, daughter of David Shield. If Uncle Might believes in you, I will too!"

The green-haired boy's cheeks started burning, "M-my name is Iz-Izuku Midoriya… I want to become the first A-Auraless huntsman. I'm thankful that you believe in me!"

"Auraless?" Melissa raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'Auraless'? Everyone's at least an A-1. Even if they can't become a huntsman, they're not Auraless."

Izuku nodded, "My aura is rated below A-1. I can only hold my aura for less than thirty seconds and any kind of contact to my skin whether its wind, touching a wall or even an insect landing on me will break my shield. I'm a one-of-a-kind failure when it comes to Aura but… but, I-I'd like to think that my weapons are powerful enough to compensate. No matter how weak I am, my weapons and tools can keep me going."

"You're not a one-of-a-kind failure," the blonde girl gave him an encouraging smile, "If Uncle Might sees something in you, I'll support you until the very end!"

Inko's lips curled up ever so slightly. The number of people suddenly supporting her son's endeavours caused pride to surge through her. Her son had grown up being looked down upon by his peers. Even when he got into Sanctum Academy, his fellow students always treated him with some pity. The only reason they stopped bullying him was that he could possibly take off as a weapons designer and inventor; they were likely stopping any bias against them in the future if he ever changed career paths.

"I'll be heading off to the shopping centre, Izuku. You can stay with Mr Yagi, as long as you return to our hotel room in a few hours. I'll send you the room details once I get the keys," Inko called out, waving goodbye to her son who returned the gesture with a grin.

"But, back to your father, Melissa! Would you mind taking me to your dad?" Yagi waved a paper bag, "I brought lunch!"

* * *

"Toshi, is this the boy?" asked a man in a lab coat, "I don't doubt your talent in picking future huntsmen, but inventors…"

Izuku looked at the tall man. David Shield was a brown-haired, goatee-adorning man; a man who exudes intelligence and curiosity. The contrast between Toshinori's ostentatious muscularity and David's lack thereof was rather comical when put side by side. Maybe that was what the blonde meant went when he said that David didn't have the fighting power to back up his inventions. Sure, Izuku saw himself as the exact same thing but if All Might thinks he was good enough then…

"Hey Midoriya, stop doing that thousand-yard stare! Muttering can be somewhat endearing but that empty stare is just creepy!" Yagi lightly slapped the boy on the back, "But seriously, David, you should just see his weapons! Show him, kid!"

Izuku had brought his most used, most important weapons with him to I-Island. Which would be his most interesting? The tranquiliser gun, the experimental ammo, maybe the Shield Breaker or Black Whip? Maybe he should show various weapons? The boy extended his whip and grabbed the tranquiliser gun from the holster, pulled his Shield Disrupting Sniper from over his back, took the test pistol out of its holster to showcase his custom ammo and a few home-made dust grenades.

"Well, these weapons are the ones I've been developing the most. There's a tranquillizer gun, a sniper that can halt someone's shield and pass through, the pistol is a way to showcase my ammo and these are home-made grenades," Izuku spread them all out, "And I can't forget Black Whip or my Wrist Mounted Gun."

David looked intrigued, "Halt someone's shield?"

"W-well, yes! Y-you see, most religions say that Aura runs through the body through metaphysical veins that run throughout the entire body. When it's used as a shield, the aura will permeate through the muscles and harden around the body to create a shield of sorts. Attacks to the shield damage the aura and the time it can keep the shield up decreases. I… I stop that." Izuku started, receiving a nod from the older scientist opposite him.

"You used religion?" David questioned, "Why did you make that connection?"

"Well, the Aura a person has is a manifestation of that person's soul, a concept tied firmly to religion and philosophy. I made that connection pretty easily so I explored what various religions say about Aura," Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "We don't really have an exact idea of where the aura comes from so it made sense to explore religion."

David nodded slowly, a small smile forming on his face, "Okay, continue…"

"My sniper uses a few methods to block the aura from permeating into the muscles. The first is to stop the aura from permeating into the muscles via a gas which exits the bullet as soon as it makes contact with the enemy. Letting it into the bloodstream slows down the rate aura flows through which supports the other procedures. The second is what I like to call 'metaphysical disruption,'" Izuku paused for a second, taking a breather before continuing, "If the aura isn't physical, how do I stop it? Well, it took me a few years of research into aura manuscripts but I eventually found something interesting. Aura is proposed as a spiritual phenomenon that is exuded from the heart since, in the words of those religions, the heart is the centre of emotion. That's why my bullets also release a mix of chemicals and Apathy DNA both into the bloodstream and into the 'aura flow.' This slows the aura down enough that raising a shield should be impossible and regeneration should be ineffective and slowed to a crawl."

"Okay, that's rather interesting." David asked with a wide, impressed grin on his face, "Very interesting. Are there any more procedures?"

"W-Well, you see, I'd rather not spill all of my secrets," the boy widened his eyes, "N-Not t-that I think your u-untrustworthy or a-anything but… you know, if this ammo gets mass-produced, i-it might end up in the wrong hands!"

David gave an amused laugh, "You know, Izuku, I've not seen many people make the connection between religion and science, interesting… How likely is it to work?"

Izuku thanked the man for his understanding, "It works around 85% of the time on targets weaker than the J-Rating so it's reliable against a lot of targets. Anything over that and the probability drops by ten percent every rating."

"Not a guaranteed success but still favourable odds," David scratched his chin, "You know what, I'll give you a chance. Your research is rather interesting but don't you think it'd be easier to create a weapon that can always cut through the Aura?"

"W-Well, SDS has a similar feature. It uses a concentrated mix of acid and unstable fire dust to burn through the hardened skin and burn through the skin and inject its chemicals," Izuku said before holding the sniper with his hand instead of the whip, "Though, I've used energy dust at the tip to stop the bullet a few milliseconds after contact, avoiding any serious organ damage. It's meant to inflict a non-lethal yet still severe wound which can incapacitate the enemy and lead to arrests and captures. It simulates being the red zone and thus incapacitates rational people. Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't tried to make a weapon to cut through Aura by itself.."

"Oh... will you elaborate?"

"Er… It's in its concept stage. I-I w-was hoping to m-maybe, h-hopefully m-make it when I get into I-Island Academy," Izuku stuttered heavily, "I hope you don't mind."

"No, no that's pretty good!" the man said, "You've gained my attention, Izuku. But can you prove to everyone else that you deserve to be here?"

The green-haired boy grinned as brightly as he could, "O-of course, I'll do whatever I need to do to pass!"

"Well, we usually have a trial we do for interns and potential students that want to try and get into the main Shield Labs team. You have a week to conceptualise a gadget (tool, weapon, armour etc) and turn that concept into a working product. It doesn't have to be completely unique but you have to make it yourself. Would you like to take that trial?"

"O-Of course!" Izuku started scratching his chin, "And I might have an idea on what I should make!"

"I might make a few changes for you though. Toshinori said that you want to be a huntsman so I think a better idea might be for you to make a weapon and then test it on some of I-Island's security bots," Professor Shield scratched his chin, "That's a good way to gauge both your creativity to make the weapon and your application of said weapon."

Izuku smiled, "O-Of course! I'll get right on it! D-do you have an empty lab that I can use to design and create it?"

"Go out the door and go three doors to the left," David stood up so that he could walk him to the lab, "I look forward to seeing what you make, Mr Midoriya. There are instructions printed next to each machine and the computers there are always available for you to make a model. Now, if you don't mind me. I'm going to see what Toshi brought for lunch."

Izuku followed the man's directions with an idea in his head. Some may have called the weapon a little unoriginal given the fact that it was an imitation of someone else's semblance but the person that wielded that semblance was extremely strong. If he could have even a fraction of that power, he'd pass this test with ease.

* * *

A short, green-haired nine-year-old stared at a blonde-haired boy, who was the same age. Izuku shifted into a protective stance in front of another boy, a home-made airsoft gun in his hand with an electrical barrel. The taller blonde opposite him glared at the inventor with a snarl, his tense hand raised ever so slightly.

"Go home, Deku!" the blonde roared, "Go and make one of those prissy weapons! Everyone knows that you're not man enough to fight without them. Take your toys and go home!"

Izuku raised the airsoft gun, pointing it at the boy's chest, "I-I won't let you h-hurt him, Kaachan! You used to be a good f-friend before you unlocked your semblance. As c-cool as it is, I… I won't let you hurt him!"

Katsuki Bakugo smirked a little at the gun barrel pointed at him, "You really fucking think you could fight me with that shitty weapon? Hah, alright then! Let's see you try and fight me with it!"

Kaachan raised his hands up slowly, trying to scare Izuku into running away. The older boy had given the younger one a chance to escape but, if he wouldn't take it, it wasn't the blonde's fault if the inventor got hurt. The slow raising of his hand was stopped when Izuku fired one of the pellets into Bakugo's chest.

The blonde's overconfidence had made him think he shouldn't use his shield. That was a mistake since the plastic bullet stung like hell due to the force that it was shot at. Katsuki powered through the pain, grabbing the barrel of the gun and shoving it upwards to avoid its line of fire. It turned out to be his second mistake when a surge of electricity came out of the barrel.

Katsuki was irked. The bullet and the following shock was painful enough that it made him pause for a second. Deku, the boy that he'd surpassed years ago, was trying to challenge him. The bomber squeezed the barrel tighter and used his semblance to atomise the hardened plastic. The explosion was small but it was still strong enough to destroy the weapon.

"Alright, Deku! Your weapon's gone now! Stop being a hassle and go back to being a pebble on the side of the road!" Katsuki shouted. He threw on a sinister smile to mask the pain going through him. He was glad that the whip-like weapon the green-haired boy often used had been broken a few days ago, courtesy of Katsuki himself; Deku would finally run away like-

"Y-You're stronger than me Kaachan, I know that! B-But I can't let you hurt people w-weaker than you," Izuku raised an older version of Black Whip, without its motion controls and hydraulics, wires swirling between his fingers, "S-So, stop being such a meanie!"

"Bringing your broken shit now, are you? Deku, you fucker, stop fighting!" Kaachan screamed, leaping forward with a right hook.

* * *

Izuku lost that fight pretty badly but that was beside the point. All he needs to know was that Katsuki Bakugo, the bully that had harassed him for years without end, had a powerful semblance. Whilst the boy's character wasn't the best, his heart was in the right place and Izuku was sure that the blonde would become a good huntsman once he'd matured.

Izuku quickly sat down onto the computer chair. His fingers quickly logged onto one of the computers and opened a documents app. A few keystrokes and clicks later, he'd named the document 'Blast Bracer.' Its name said it all, bracers that produce a blast. Actually, maybe a better idea would be to make it a modular accessory to his Black Whip and WMG combination. That was a pretty good idea, all things considered. WMG for long-range, Black Whip for close combat and Blast Bracers for crowd control and a large area of effect.

"But will this count as a new weapon? Maybe I should separate it from my current combination and make it a standalone weapon. After I've showcased it, I'll add it in," Izuku rubbed his chin, "Or maybe I can create an additional set up… One for my right arm and one for my left. That could be a pretty good way to-"

"Hi, Izuku!"

The inventor yelped at the sudden noise, "M-Mellissa! I-I scare easily! Ca-can you please not do that to me!"

"Izuku, you can't be that worried, could you?" Melissa chirped, "How would you fight the Grimm then?"

"They don't suddenly pop up out of nowhere!" Izuku said before sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "I guess I am a little too easy to scare b-but it's not that bad!"

"Sure! But, what are you making? I assume that my dad gave you the usual test. Make a cool gadget from scratch, right?" Melissa said before reading the top of the document, "Blast Bracers? Like bracers that cause explosions or do you mean a forcefield-like push? That could work. How are you going to go through with it?"

"A bracer that causes explosions. Well, nitroglycerin is super reactive, right? I'm not a demolition expert or explosive enthusiast," Izuku admitted, his shy smile slowly appearing, "But it was used pretty often and even made stable for use in dynamite. I could create a trigger mechanism and suddenly I can release nitroglycerin from the palm and boom!"

"You might be onto something! I know I'm not really meant to help you but I really want to see how you do. You're only fifteen, right?" Melissa said, earning a short nod from a blushing Izuku, "I could've never thought of something as simple yet effective as this! Uncle Toshi was right to place his hopes on you!

The inventor nodded, blushing all the while, "T-thank you! It's not really an original idea. It's based on the semblance of someone I know. His semblance allowed him to create explosions. It may be an imitation but sometimes, copying isn't a bad thing."

Melissa nodded, "What about a dust system? Maybe using a mix of fire dust and air dust could spread the explosion out more?"

"Holy Woah! Now that you said that, I think I figured out how to do this! If I spray the nitroglycerin into the air, I could follow it up with a dust-based flamethrower which I can attach to the bottom of my wrist!" Izuku's voice rose an octave as he felt the giddy rush of energy and creativity, "I could also charge up explosions by forcing the liquid into a small chamber before I combust it outside. Maybe I could involve electrical dust to involve a sharp surge of electricity! Nitroglycerin-is-so-reactive-that-I-can-ration-dust. Maybe-I-might-be-able-to…"

Mellissa tapped Izuku on the shoulder, causing him to realise he'd started muttering. The boy quickly realised that he hadn't typed any of his ideas or started designing the weapon. Izuku created a separate document for his modular bracer idea. He could update that later but, for now, he had a weapon to create.

* * *

"And… done!" Izuku sighed in relief, seeing the plastic model version of the weapon inside the 3d printing chamber. He'd only used the 3d designing software during one of his projects at Sanctum Academy so the tools were fairly new to him. He was thankful Mellissa was allowed to help him with the tools and act as an assistant. If she hadn't, he'd still be figuring out how to get the exact dimensions for the bracers.

It was the fourth day, halfway through his allotted time. He may have spent more than a healthy amount of time in the labs but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy every second. It reminded him of the time when he created Black Whip, his first serious weapon. The thrill of power, the feeling of turning those dreams and ideas into a reality, it was addicting and hard to describe.

"Alright, I have five minutes before the plastic cools down," Izuku said aloud before feeling through the mess that was on his desk, "Hey, erm, Melissa, it's almost done. Where did you put the nitroglycerin?"

"The nitroglycerin tank is next to me. Where's the dust crystal?" the blonde replied, clearing some papers away on her side. She grabbed some of the hemispherical nitroglycerin containers moulded to fit around Izuku's forearm and biceps like a sleeve would.

"I put the crystals next to the printing chamber. According to my calculations, we should have just enough dust for twenty minutes of constant flamethrower use so we should be able to test some explosions," Izuku started muttering about how much he could improve that capacity before pausing for a second, "... I should tell Pyrrha that I'm done, shouldn't I?"

Melissa lightly patted him on the head, eliciting a small yelp from him, "You've been updating her about the project thus far, you should tell her now before you start playing with your new toys!"

Izuku's fingers quickly tapped the screen of his scroll, cheeks heating up given that he was ringing a (rather cute) girl's scroll, "H-hi, Pyrrha, I finished the bracer!"

The redhead looked away for a second before looking back at the scroll, with a beaming smile, "Sorry, Izuku, I'm currently in one of the tournaments! But what did I say, I'd bet that if you used those weapons, you could go toe-to-toe with me! Send me a video of it in action! Even if you don't make it into I-Island Academy, you can come out of it with an impressive weapon in hand!"

"I'll send you the test footage," Izuku said before a stray thought passed by, "A-Actually… is the tournament being broadcasted? I have a few minutes before the plastic cools and I've been wanting to see you in action!"

Pyrrha gave a small smile, "Aw, that's sweet of you! It's a pretty small tournament though so I'm not really sure. But, if you really want to see me in action, make sure you get to Beacon! I want to spar with you once you've refined and perfected your weapons."

"T-Thank you! And I will! I'll get into I-Island Academy and then I'll get into Beacon!" Izuku gave her his brightest beaming smile, "So you should wait for me at the finish line!"

The redhead grinned, "Well, if I do get there first, I will. I need to go now but I'll call you again a little later. Bye Izuku!"

"Bye Pyrrha!" Melissa said from behind the boy, pointing towards the printing chamber, "Izuku, the bracers are finishing in a minute. Get ready to insert the nitroglycerin and dust chambers."

"B-bye Pyrrha! See you soon!" Izuku put the phone down, cheeks starting to return to their natural colour.

He turned from the chair to stare at the printing chamber. Izuku started shaking in anticipation as the last seconds ticked down. He always enjoyed the last few seconds, all of his efforts culminated into one moment of massive satisfaction. The boy couldn't help but let loose a few tears; another one of his ideas that can be shown to the world.

The bracer was composed of four sections, First were the black gloves which had several holes on the fingertips and around his palm to eject the nitroglycerin. Due to it being a test model, Izuku didn't spend as much as he should on safety and keeping his weapon from harming him and not his enemy. The hardened, dust-infused plastic was made specifically for handling extremely hot temperatures so he should be safe enough… should...

Next were the two cylindrical plastic pieces moulded to fit around his arm tightly. The forearm piece included two sliders which hid certain features to avoid accidental damage. Izuku hid a little safety slider on the top of his arm, allowing him to enable and disable the nitroglycerin to switch between creating explosions and using the flamethrower. It also readjusted the muzzle's aim to avoid accidentally attacking himself. The second slider was used to hide the trigger which would activate the fire dust and nitroglycerin ejection system. Whilst it limited the boy to one explosion at a time, it would let him spread his resources throughout the fight and it was the easiest to implement.

The last piece was the aforementioned dust-operated flamethrower which popped out of the forearm piece at a specific angle (aimed to have a theoretical 100% chance to hit some of the nitroglycerin and detonate it.) The muzzle was shaped to release a thin stream of heat which would grow into a larger torrent of fire. That meant that he wouldn't accidentally burn himself with his own flamethrower but he still had a large area of effect.

The green-haired boy quickly loaded the gauntlet with the canisters of nitroglycerin and dust before slotting his arm inside, "C'mon, Melissa! To the testing range!"

The blonde giggled slightly, "It's… weird that you become so confident when it comes to your weapons yet you're a stuttering mess whenever we talk outside of the lab."

"B-but that's just me being c-confident in my weapons. Now, hurry up, Melissa! I have to iron out any flaws in its designs!" Izuku rushed through his words, too excited by his new weapon to even think about anything other than testing it, "If we don't run, we might not have enough time to start fixing it!"

Midoriya started sprinting, becoming nothing more than a blur of green as he swerved through the corridors of I-Island's labs. The blonde behind him started jogging, not wanting to keep the boy waiting for too long. Even if she couldn't run as fast as the inventor, she didn't want to risk missing Izuku trying out his weapon so she pushed herself forward.

It took a couple of minutes before the duo finally reached the training area and weapon testing room. It was large, nearly thirty metres long and half of that wide, and filled with various training equipment: archery stands (for precision and accuracy tests); ballistic gelatine (for simulation against a human opponent); and various plates of metal (varying in material and thickness to simulate aura shields.) The floor was made with a specialised shock-absorbing material that Izuku wasn't familiar with whilst the walls were soundproof double-plated steel.

"Which metal are we using first?" Izuku said, looking at the metal plates. He was confident that the bracer could easily destroy the thin (less than two centimetres thick) sheets of copper, tin and aluminium but he was unsure about the thicker (over seven centimetres thick) slabs.

"Shouldn't you do a fire test first? Make sure that the weapon is working?" Melissa asked before pointing at the large slab of ballistic gelatine, "After a test to see that it's working, we should start testing it on the ballistic gelatine to simulate its efficiency on human targets. Given that you can use specific amounts of nitroglycerin in the tank, we're going to need multiple tests. We'll also need to check effectiveness at various distances."

Izuku nodded, gesturing for Melissa to take a few steps back. With one arm raised and the other acting as a stabiliser, Izuku turned the safety to 'explosive' mode and faintly tapped the trigger. A slight amount of nitroglycerin erupted out of the gauntlet before a small flame burst out of the flamethrower nozzle and licked the explosive substance. The explosion that followed surprised Izuku enough that he jumped into the wall behind him.

The slight pain he felt from jumping into the wall was overshadowed by the simple feeling of relief that his invention worked. The rigorous mathematics and geometry he needed to do to get this to work properly were insane but, in the end, it paid off. A press of less than a second caused a sizable blast, what would happen if he held the trigger down for a full five seconds?

"Mechanisms seem to be working. You should probably take a few steps back Melissa, I'm going to blast at full power!" Izuku called out, waiting for the blonde to run a few dozen feet before pressing on the trigger, "5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Blast!"

The explosion that came out of the attack was strong. Strong enough that Izuku was pressed tightly against the wall behind him. The explosion was much wider than Izuku thought it would be; he was glad that he told Melissa to take a few stepbacks, mainly because she would've been atomised if she hadn't taken those few steps back.

"Holy Woah! I thought that I'd be able to stand the recoil. Maybe I should include some kind of Gravity Dust so that I can endure the strength of the explosion," Izuku looked at the plastic gauntlet, "But that proved that this weapon is a success! Time to blow up some gelatine!"

* * *

The testing phase took two hours with a bunch of grafts, temperature taking and sheer destruction. From his testing he'd learned three big things: One, as long as his palm was within a few centimetres of the target, he could destroy the weaker metals with little charging up; two, at full power, he could atomise all tested materials at close distance and almost all of them at all tested distances (granted, the furthest distance he attacked from was five metres); and three, ballistic gelatine stood no chance when his gauntlets were at even half its full power within five metres. His weapons were very lethal but against the Grimm, his main target, that didn't matter whatsoever.

"You seem happy, Izuku!" Melissa called out from behind him, "Did you finish taking in your new weapon? You should start building the final product!"

"W-Well. The graphs just took a really long time to do. I'm kinda happy that I've finally gotten everything done so I can get back to building!" Izuku said before quickly saying, "N-Not that I-I'm saying I don't appreciate you helping me finish the data!"

"You… didn't imply that!" Melissa laughed a little, "No one can say they like paperwork unironically."

Izuku filed all of said paperwork away in a plastic folder, "But you're right, I should probably ask your dad for the metalworking tools. I can already see the steel on my arm, releasing bright explosions."

"Alright, I'll take you to him. Don't forget the test results, you might be able to take the test early so you should probably take that opportunity. With the firepower you currently have, I'm sure you could get through the test easily," Melissa stood by the door, waiting for him to gather his resources.

The green-haired inventor shook his head, "Maybe not now, I'd rather wait until I have a final product. If I use most of my time making the metal plates, I should be able to finish the final product by the end of the week! Let's go."

"You said it, Izuku! Let's go finish off your Blast Bracers and get you into I-Island Academy!" Melissa pumped her fist into the air, trying to rally Izuku's confidence.

Izuku stood up and followed the blonde through the corridor. Given that he had been staying in the room he'd been given to develop the Blast Bracers, Izuku didn't recognise or remember any of the doors and had to stay within a few metres of Melissa lest he lose himself in the plain white walls and floor.

A couple turns later and Izuku stumbled into a room where he saw the figure of David Shield. Izuku held the files tightly in his hand. It was time to show the professor his progress and he couldn't say he didn't feel a little nervous. All he'd made was a glove that can blow things up; the boy was sure that there had been several people who'd taken the test with more capable, innovative weapons.

"Erm. Excuse me, Professor Shield?" He waited for the tall man to turn towards him, "I've finished my prototype, I was wondering if I could create the final product with metal?"

David raised an eyebrow, it had only been four days and the boy was already done, "Okay, have you tested it yet?"

Izuku nodded, handing the file to the older inventor, "Well, yes. Here are the results."

David took a few glances at some of the tables and bar charts and he found promising results. Usually, a student would make a gun or some kind of commonplace weapon: pistols, rifles, long swords, plasma blades, shock gauntlets and the like. Surprisingly, Izuku made a gauntlet that can cause explosions, and rather powerful explosions if the test results were anything to go by.

"Well, sure. But, wouldn't it be better to take the test now and use the rest of your time on I-Island refining the final product? Your prototype seems capable enough." David asked, taking a final glance at the results.

"W-well, I think it'd be better to finish it off and go in with the full product. Maybe I can iron out a few kinks in the system or reduce the recoil," Izuku started, running his fingers down the length of the bracer, "I'll likely finish doing that in a day or two. Afterwards, I'll come in and challenge the security bots."

"Well then, I'll see you here soon," David said before ushering the boy out of the room.

* * *

Three days later, Izuku walked back into the room with a new pair of gauntlets. Whilst in functionality, they were the same weapon, Izuku had added in numerous additions. Quality-of-life features like incorporating Gravity Dust into the metal plating, adding a distinct texture to the switches and giving it a more flexible, comfortable glove.

The plastic, whilst it wasn't weak, wasn't as durable as Izuku needed it to be. Instead, Izuku replaced it with double-layered, dust-infused metal plating and flexible, graphene-layered polythene gloves which are also made to be blast-proof. The gauntlets were quite a bit heavier due to the gravity dust, reducing recoil enough that the green-haired boy wouldn't fall back after a full-powered blast.

Aesthetically, the plates were all a distinct forest green with light grey lines between them. The trigger was replaced with a grenade handle that was pressure sensitive to allow him to hold an explosion for later whilst the slide became textured so that it was easy to move. Even the flamethrower nozzle was updated given it now had a ruby red nozzle. The gauntlet looked pretty good and, if the tests were anything to go by, they were very destructive.

There was also a single difference that really improved how effective the Blast Bracers were. A small carbon fibre string wrapped around the grenade handle which wrapped around Izuku's fingers to operate each gauntlet with one hand. Though he had to stretch his thumb to its limits, it meant that Izuku could use both gauntlets at the same time.

Izuku stretched his arms, sweat pouring from his face due to his nerves. He peeked behind him and saw Melissa, who gave an encouraging smile and had a playful gleam in her eye, standing in front of the doorframe. The girl had stayed with him every step of the way, aiding him when he met a roadblock or some kind of obstacle. She was the older sister he never had but always wanted and he really wanted to show her the fruits of his effort.

"Professor Shield… I-I'm ready to take the test!" Izuku took in a deep breath before relaxing his features and summoning his shallow reservoir of self-confidence, "I think I've refined the Blast Bracers enough for me to confidently take the test."

David Shield looked up at Izuku from the white office chair he'd been sitting on, he'd been waiting for the boy to come sooner or later, "Well then. I guess we should prepare the security bots. Do you want a bunch of mid-tier drones or do you want to fight against a more difficult opponent?"

Izuku scratched his chin with the gauntlets on, "I'd like to fight against the s-stronger ones, please. I want to make sure that I've refined the weapon to the best of my ability. A-As impressive as your security is, t-there will definitely be stronger people and Grimm that I may need to face with these weapons. If I can't take down these drones, my Blast Bracer wouldn't be able to defeat any of those stronger opponents."

David nodded his head, "Good to see you're aiming high. Try your hardest, Izuku. Weapons can be refined over time and I doubt you'll give up on your Blast Bracers after this examination. You seem like the type to stick with an idea to the bitter end."

The young inventor nodded, fist tightening as he raised his arm up to see his handiwork, "O-Of course. I'd be nothing without my weapons. If I gave up on them, I'd be giving up on an advantage that could turn the tide of a battle. With my weak body, I need to use every advantage I can take."

The older man pressed a few buttons on one of the remotes nearby, "Time to see if you can reach your dreams, Izuku. The drone has been deployed in the Botanical Garden which is used to simulate a forest as well as display our agriculture-based research. Melissa will show you the way there."

Izuku turned around, "T-thank you, Mr Shield. F-for giving me this opportunity to build the Blast Bracers. It means a lot to me and I would really like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to use your facilities."

"Of course, Izuku. I can't pass up an aspiring, talented student," David said before thinking of something, ''Though I will say, you need to be a little more confident in yourself. You spend so much time improving your weapons that you forget you can improve yourself. Spend a little time refining your body instead of your weapons. I know I may not be the best person to say this given my body is nowhere near peak performance but it's still an important piece of advice."

Midoriya nodded before he followed Melissa, briefly pondering about Mr Shield's advice. It was true that he didn't focus on training his body much. When the inventor was younger, he used to have a daily routine but, as he got older, he exercised on the days when he had zero inventions to make, practically never. He didn't have noodle arms but he didn't have noticeable muscles either. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to do some strength and cardio training. Now, what would be a good routine?

"Hey, Izuku, we're here!" Melissa flicked him on the head, "Time to shine!"

The boy blinked, realising that he had been walking whilst in deep thought, "Alright. Are we going to start the attack now or does Professor Shield have to activate them on me? Also, wouldn't it be better to take the test in a standard training room instead of a plant sanctuary?"

"Dad will come in a minute. As soon as you step through the door, you usually have five to ten seconds before the thing notices you and starts attacking. For your second question, the main point of being examined here is to get you to minimise collateral damage," Melissa slid her access card and opened the door, "That's another thing I should mention, make sure you damage as little of the greenery in there."

The blonde, without any warning, pushed him inside. Izuku could only turn in confusion and stare blankly at Melissa waving goodbye. Wait, how long did he have until the robots started attacking? If he remembered correctly, it was ten seconds and that wasn't long enough to attempt sneaking around and eliminating the drone without a powerful blast from the back. The Blast Bracers weren't suited for stealth anyway so he had to assume that a no-nonsense all-out attack was the best option.

The boy set one gauntlet to the explosive and the other to the 'flamethrower' setting. He had a long-range stream of flame and a wide explosion, not the best options in a forest but he'd heard of other Huntsmen that have done much worse. He remembered a certain Huntress who could manipulate the weather and create hurricanes and storms which often damaged the civilians as much as it did the Grimm. Her name was Amber… Actually, what was the rest of her name? She disappeared a while ago so the last time he'd heard of her was almost a year ago..

Disregarding that, Izuku drank in the sight of various trees and other greenery. The botanical garden was a forest of trees with tile pathways going between them. Most of the trees were genetically altered in various ways like producing larger fruit, becoming more durable, having thicker leaves etc. It was a relaxing place, somewhere Izuku would want to wander around when he was theorising about Huntsmen or finding inspiration for a new invention. It'd be nice to spend time standing here-

Izuku broke into a sprint, he'd spent time just standing there like an idiot! How much time had passed? Five seconds? Ten seconds? Fifteen seconds? The robots were already after him, weren't they? He charged up a blast for three seconds, long enough to atomise anything within six metres , but short enough that he wouldn't damage anything by accident. He swerved around some trees, making sure not to break any twigs.

"Midoriya, behind you," the voice of David Shield was heard, likely coming from one of the speakers on the wall.

Izuku paused and looked behind him. There stood a woman with dark brown hair that reached her waist, a white tank top and a miniskirt along with red and black gloves with matching boots. The boy couldn't help but blush a little, noticing how real the skin looked. Only the assumption that David had sent a drone kept him from rolling around on the floor with burning cheeks and incessant muttering. Even if he knew it was a robot, his cheeks heated up.

"This is Android 4, code-named Cent. In collaboration with the Atlesian Military, Shield Labs is creating a robotic substitute for human soldiers. Whilst they're trying to implant an Aura into an abiotic host," David spoke through some sort of speaker system, a hint of pride in his voice, "We're developing the body and combat AI. They'll be deployed by Atlas for certain Grimm missions, either to assist huntsmen or to do the job themselves. You're going to fight against a prototype for your assessment. Let's see how you do, Midoriya."

"B-But, P-Professor, why make it so… h-human?" Izuku stuttered and his cheeks heated up even further, "E-Especially its clothing. C-Couldn't you have p-put-something more… modest on?"

"The androids are meant to blend in with human society. We tried to keep the illusion of an actual person without falling into the uncanny valley. About the clothes, I could have given it a jumper but I was aiming to replicate Tifa Lockheart, fighting style and all, from one of my favourite childhood video games. It'd be wrong for me to not use the in-game outfit."

Izuku raised an eyebrow. Wasn't Tifa Lockheart from Final Fantasy VII? He remembered playing an HD remake of the title four years ago and he was sure that she wasn't this… blush-inducing. Maybe it was the fact that it was a bunch of pixels instead of a physical object in front of him and that he was playing a game instead of fighting. Whatever it was, it reminded him of one important fact.

Tifa was a hand-to-hand brawler in-game. And, if Izuku heard Shield correctly, the android copied the original character's fighting style. Black Whip would probably be the best weapon for this fight but, as long as the boy kept her out of striking range, he might be able to barely scrape a win with the Blast Bracers.

Izuku raised his right arm and charged it to its maximum output. If it was an android, he could assume that it had some sort of skeletal system to keep it standing. He changed both gauntlets to their explosive mode and detonated an explosion towards the android, keeping it at a distance.

The explosion didn't seem to dissuade the android. She ran straight through the smoke and jumped up above him, preparing a dropkick to break through his defence. Izuku quickly raised his gauntlets, blocking the kick before retaliating with a light explosion to the drone's leg, pushing her back.

Realising that collateral damage was imminent, Izuku prepared a four-second explosion which came into use when his opponent closed the distance again for an uppercut. With the explosion released, Izuku punched as hard as he could through the smoke, guessing where he thought the drone was. Something caught his left wrist and pulled him into the smoke.

Izuku responded to the pull with an explosion meant to push the robot away from him. The smoke was blown away by the force and he saw Cent ready to attack him with an ice-covered sweep kick. The inventor spun around and pulled the drone closer to him, breaking her form for the kick, and released an explosion into the back of their neck.

Backstepping quickly, Izuku created a distance again and switched his weapon to the 'flamethrower' mode, trying to add on damage with a jet of heat. Flames ravaged the body of the android, burning at the outer skin though it didn't blacken. She still fought through the searing flames and kicked him in the ribs.

The pain shot through his body but he was able to defend himself against the following kicks with blocks and timed explosions. Despite this, the boy wasn't able to protect himself against the girl, who quickly wrapped her arms around his torso and suplexed him into the ground. His head hit the ground hard, dazing him when he hit the grass.

The drone raised a fist and threw a quick punch aimed straight at his neck. Izuku blinked a few times to get rid of the dizziness and formulated a quick combo. He pushed his palms down against the ground and released an explosion to propel him back up. Using the momentum to carry him forwards, Izuku headbutted the android's torso, aiming just below the android's breast.

He couldn't help but let out a squeak of pain when he felt his head hit the soft mounds on the android's chest. He also couldn't help but become a stuttering mess when he realised his head touched someone's breast. The fact that it was a robot didn't seem to get through Izuku's embarrassment.

The inventor, trying to get rid of the embarrassment, placed both palms on the girl's chin and released a dual, maximum power explosion. The attack had enough force behind it to nearly crack the neck motors. The dual explosion was followed by numerous small explosions to knock Tifa's head completely off.

Realising he finally had a way to end the fight, Izuku pressed his thumbs into the android's eyes and released a final large explosion. All of the previous attacks caused enough damage for the boy's final attack to blow the head off of the torso in a beautiful display of sparks, torn circuits and ripped metal. Izuku took a deep breath before leaning on the beheaded drone's shoulders.

"Well done, Izuku!" Melissa congratulated over the P.A with a cheery tone.

"Yes, well done, Izuku! You've already proved yourself an amazing inventor. But now, you've proved yourself a capable fighter!" David congratulated as well, "We'll use this test to find ways to improve Android 4's body. But that's beside the point! I need to send this footage to the rest of I-Island Academy's higher-ups and get it reviewed so you'll have to wait three or so days for the results to come in."

Izuku nodded before falling onto the ground, resting his head on the grass. He thought he did pretty good when he looked back at the fight. The adrenaline of the fight had helped him push through the feeling of having his head slammed into the ground and get through the pain in his ribs. He hoped someone would come by to check on it but, in the meantime, Izuku would lay down and maybe take a nap. He doubted anyone would mind.

The inventor was about to fall asleep but remembered to remove the bracers and gently place them on the ground, "Better not blow my head off when I'm asleep."


	3. Dust Infusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armour is pretty cool. It protects one from bullets, swords and explosions. To make the best armour, one needs to put in a lot of effort, Thankfully, Izuku's ready to put in that effort and then some.

Izuku groaned once more due to his coursework. It was his third week into the academic year and I-Island's work was not easy but what was a goal that was easy to attain? Atleast, that was what Melissa, his almost annoying enthusiastic friend, kept telling him as he forced the knowledge into his head.

He thought back to his first week: simple and welcoming. The thrill of continuing his journey to become a huntsman (by joining I-Island) overshadowed the awkward interactions with his peers but, now that the excitement was wearing off, he realised that interacting with his classmates was inevitable. Izuku didn't think he was ready for all of that socialising just yet.

Due to being a combat school, I-Island held combat classes twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) and so far, he'd noticed a trend. Everyone treated him like he was made of glass; they generally kept their weapons in their sheaths or went in without a weapon period. They didn't even do that to students with A-rated shields, who are only slightly more durable than him. The inventor needed to get rid of that reluctance to go all out; if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to learn as much from the combat lessons compared to everyone else and he'd fall behind.

"Izuku… You're muttering again!" the blonde broke him out of his thought process, a little peeved that he hadn't been listening to her.

The surprise caused the boy to blurt out, "Melissa, I need a suit!"

Said blonde raised an eyebrow, she'd been helping Izuku with some of his coursework when it came to the history of defence mechanisms and how they've advanced during major conflicts… and the boy asks for a suit?

"Why? Wait, suit as in armour or suit as in clothes? Actually, forget why; you don't have Aura, our natural defence, so you need to build your own so you must mean armour. But… why did you ask that now?" the girl asked the fifteen-year-old, "Why don't we do this later and you try and learn your stuff?"

Izuku nodded, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "I mean, it's not that I hadn't been listening or anything. You'd been talking about how Atlas (then Mantle) had found some weapons from the old empire in the ruins of what we believe to be an old military base. These weapons (mainly a mix of firearms and crossbows) as well as original mecha-shift technology were all taken in for examination. The old Atlesian government used this superior technology to colonise the Free Banks and use the fertile land for agriculture and the rich earth for extra mines. And then that caused Atlas to develop even further so when Vacuo and Mistral started a small conflict a little over a century ao, Atlas's alliance with Mistral and them entering the conflicts raised the battlefield from swords and bows to firearms and artillery."

"So, you were listening... Finish the work and then we can discuss the suit," Melissa flicked the boy on the forehead, a small smile on her face.

Izuku rubbed the area where the girl flicked him, "Yeah… I was the one that asked you to come and help me in the first place."

* * *

Almost a day later, the inventor scratched his head, looking at the computer monitor which displayed blueprints of several different armours. He was sitting in one of the research and development areas that all of the I-Island students were given access to, trying to bring the perfect synergy between heavy-defence and speed for his armour. Should he focus on protection with the steel-plated knight armour or the sleek battle armour that threw protection for speed and stealth? How could he include his weapons in them? The number of weapons he put in the armour would add to the total mass of the suit and he definitely didn't want to trade agility for his arsenal.

Which weapons would he prioritise? Black Whips was definitely going to be implemented, no questions about that, but should he include WMG? He was starting to become proficient with small handguns and the range of bullets he could use with the pistols was a nice bonus but the amount of effort he'd put into the machine guns couldn't go to waste, could it?

Melissa, wearing the grey jacket, red necktie and green skirt that made up the I-Island uniform, looked over Izuku's shoulder and watched the boy drag the mouse cursor around the screen with windows being pulled on and off the monitor, "Do you really need my help?"

The blonde's question fell on deaf ears causing her to pout. As much as she enjoyed watching Izuku go through various armours, she had to admit that it was kind of boring. She waited for a few more seconds before tapping the boy's shoulders.

"W-What?" Izuku yelped out from the sudden contact, "Oh, it's just you Melissa. I completely forgot you were even here… no offence of course."

"Hmm..." the blonde started before sighing, "I see that you're trying to choose between the designs that you've made. Might as well help you choose which one. From what I've seen, you rely on quick, light attacks rather than heavy ones so I'd rule out the knight-like plate armour. On the other hand, I don't recommend that ninja stealth suit, it doesn't offer enough protection for it to be beneficial."

"So, one of the other suits…" Izuku minimised all of the windows before opening a file that shows a battle armour that looked fairly similar to traditional Mistral samurai armour, "I bulked up the armour around the forearms to include Black Whip, added compartments underneath the shoulder plates to contain the nitroglycerin needed for the Blast Bracers and made use of the space around my waist for all my ammunition. I was even able to add holsters around the belt in order to keep my hand cannon, my 9mm pistol and my tranq readily available as well as the SDS on the sides. I even added in my concept high-frequency tanto as a close-range back up. I've left the helmet as is for head protection."

Melissa nodded, "I like it; it looks cool and it honours your nation's history. It keeps all your weapons and inserting the canisters underneath the shoulder plates isn't a bad idea. Why did you keep the mask though? I'd keep the kabuto for head protection but the mask will just block your peripheral vision."

Izuku shook his head, "Actually, whilst the mask might block part of my vision, I was thinking of making some software and some cameras to create a system for profiling targets and keeping a constant stream of information coming in. Maybe try and estimate prior weaknesses, illnesses and other vulnerabilities that I can try to exploit."

"... And how do you plan to do that?" Melissa asked with a raised eyebrow, "You're not planning on stealing hospital data are you?"

"I mean, probably not… I was hoping to create self-improving A.I that will add information that it observed. It'll take a while but it's not like I need it to be fully featured by the end of the year," Izuku shook his head with a slight bit of hesitation. "Atlas has already implemented their profiling system in certain cities where crime has been snowballing and, sooner or later, the rest of Remnant is going to comply unless it's proven to be ineffective. "

"Alright, Izuku. If you want to play Big Brother and observe the people, I won't interfere. Show me the rest of them," Melissa nodded her head toward the monitor.

"Next, we have what I'm calling my gunslinger outfit," Izuku pulled up another window, "It's all about the guns here and I think it's the closest balance of weight-to-defence I have right now. I've placed hardened pads around my shins, shoulders and abs but I've also mixed dozens of layers of graphene and some extra layers of polymer for flexible defence. I shrunk down Black Whip and have altered WMG to accept both magazines and an ammunition belt which runs around the outfit several times. Then I've attached my holsters around the belt for the handguns I've already mentioned as well as magazines, fine dust grenades, sticky grenades, glue grenades and tasers. I even added a dedicated section for the sniper ammo and non-lethal 'shellshock' bullets."

"Not bad and it could fit you considering you're leaning more towards guns. Also, when were you going to make those shellshock bullets," Melissa asked. The bullets had intrigued her considering they were made to inhibit the target's sense of hearing, sight, smell and even taste, to an extent. The idea was that the rubber casing would rip on impact releasing both concentrated pepper spray and a combo of fire Dust and lighting Dust to create a large flash of light as well as a loud noise.

"Hopefully by the end of the week. Anyways, do you want to see the last suit of armour? This one is my favourite but it has an annoying prerequisite if I want to make it work." Izuku said motioning towards what looked like a green mech suit. Built from dozens of plated metals that were sleek and light, the armour was meant to be the perfect mobile battle armour… If he could get past that prerequisite.

"And what's that prerequisite?" Melissa asked, "What do you need to build it?"

"I need electricity. I need to create a network of electrical currents that can move compartments quickly. I can't rely on batteries since they don't have a fine enough control that I need to operate the suit," Izuku moved through a few pages and brought up a diagram of wires that looked more akin to veins, "There's also the price. I was able to get away with rather expensive inventions when at home due to my dad's successful job as a merchant and weapons dealer but this suit might be pushing way past my budget. I need to find some way to generate income and, given that I already have a large range of products, I was hoping to try and mass-produce some of my ideas and sell them out to a weapons market.

"I-Island does have a program for new inventors to sell their products so I doubt the price will be a problem so long as your inventions live up to your claims," Melissa paused for a second, "But the electricity problem... I guess it was inevitable that you'd try at some point. Are you going to risk infusion or implement it externally?"

"I guess you've caught on. I know that Dust can be infused into the human body for those willing to take the risk and, if it can help me achieve my dream of becoming a huntsman, I'm willing to take that risk…" Izuku shook his head slightly, "Not that I'm going to throw away my life and hope for the best. I've been researching some old nomadic tribes."

"Tribes?" Melissa raised an eyebrow, "How are they going to help you?"

"W-Well, I guess it might s-seem a little stupid, but it's said that humanity was only able to survive the early waves of Grimm due to the discovery of Dust and their uses of raw, unrefined dust. It's a known fact that, on average, Aura has become stronger each generation s-so the inverse is true as well: those that originally fought the Grimm would have had much weaker Aura than we do now," Izuku started before opening up some documents, "In other words, the only way they were able to fight the Grimm with primitive weapons and weak Aura was their use of Dust. Whilst that does include using unrefined Dust, sources like the tablets found in various ruins from Vacuo as well as some of Atlas's oldest libraries depict physical enhancements as their main use of Dust. In other words, given that the population didn't die out or wasn't thinned out to near-extinction, there was some sort of way to absorb/use Dust without risking your life, or at least a method with favourable odds to survive."

"Alright, I assume you're trying to find one of these tribes? Have you got any leads?" the blonde gave an unsure smile, "It's not like tribes are very easy to find."

"Well, there are three viable locations that I've been looking into: the north-western end of the Free Banks, the eastern half of Vacuo and the desert section of Menagerie," the inventor sighed slowly as he rolled his neck, "But, the most promising is going to be the Free Banks. Atlas was, and still is, the leader in Dust mining and application and, given that most of the Free Banks were under Atlesian rule before the Great War kicked off, there's still a large number of villages and settlements that were left from that period. If there were to be any tribe with intricate Dust usage, it would be there."

"What's your game plan then?"

"Aerial drones and a lot of them mind you. I've been looking at some of the older regional maps and pinpointing which settlements may still support life and was hoping to send some basic solar-powered drones to confirm their use of dust," Izuku scratched the back of his head, "Just to be sure, y-you do like the armour, right?"

The blonde gave a bright grin, "Of course I do. I wouldn't have asked so much otherwise."

"Alright then. I guess that sorts that problem out," Izuku saved the slight alterations he'd made to the blueprints and documents before shutting down the computer, "I'll start tomorrow. As long as I don't slack it shouldn't take much longer than a week if all goes well."

* * *

It took far longer than a week. On the last week of the school term, Izuku was still sitting in a chair checking over various drone footage. He'd underestimated the task of trying to find a dust-fuelled tribe and, if Izuku hadn't sunk so much effort into looking for these tribes, the boy probably would have quit weeks ago.

In the month between the start of the mission and now, he'd located numerous villages and tribes of all kinds. The only problem was that he wasn't sure which one actually used Dust infusion techniques. As great as it was to locate tribes and settlements that were either relics of older civilizations or separate from civilization entirely, his goal was to find tribes that use Dust infusion.

From his search, there were three tribes in particular which held promising results: a tribe found on the 'tail' section of the 'Free Banks'; another found off the western coast of Tenebris; and a final coastal tribe to the north of the previous tribe. Other than those three, he'd found a few more tribes dotted around the Free Banks and Tenebris although those didn't hold nearly as much potential.

The first tribe was located three weeks into the mission. From Izuku's prior research, he could assume that the tribe was part of a settlement labelled 'Kilead' on a map which showed the Free Banks around a century before the Great War. They were meant to be a large supplier of Dust when the settlement was still standing but it seemed that the settlement was destroyed by some kind of Grimm; the residents left the town for a nomadic life and weren't recorded at all after a certain date. Given the close proximity between the tribe's current location and the settlement's original location as well as the abundance of Dust usage he'd observed, Izuku was pretty sure that they were connected in some way, shape or form.

The second tribe, which he traced back to a town destroyed in Atlas's colonisation of the Free Banks, caught Izuku's attention due to him observing an electrical, aura-like phenomenon in the tribal chief's family. It seemed to be like a semblance or Aura, as in turning it on and off at will, so Izuku couldn't tell whether it was some kind of hereditary semblance, similar to the one he knew that the Schnee family and the Todoroki family had, or actual Dust infusion. Izuku knew that hereditary semblances had slight alterations between each user, usually aesthetic, and that seemed to work with the tribe given that the colour of electricity changed between users. The inventor held onto the hope that it was the use of Dust instead of a semblance.

The third tribe was one that Izuku knew used Dust augmentation. The only problem was that the tribe had an unusually low population. In other words, Izuku was sure that they used Dust but, from his observations, they used a much more risky infusion method. He held the tribe in the back of his mind in case his other leads are dead ends.

He sipped from a coffee mug, watching the video feeds from the drones before eventually turning away from it and looking at his research material. He looked way more tired than usual given that he had to go through all the hours of footage that he missed at 15x speed during the night. With the hope of catching the Dust infusion technique slipping away, he may need to use more primitive ways of infusion.

Maybe he might need to pursue the other way to integrate Dust into the human body: injecting it into the bloodstream like some kind of illicit drug. It was less risky (though still with a bit of risk) but, to Izuku, way less effective. If he was going to take the battle armour into longer missions, he couldn't carry electric Dust on him at all times so that he wasn't locked out of his suit.

Though, maybe it'll be beneficial to create an armour which has a Dust injection system. It would boost his physical capabilities, build a defence and serve as a placeholder until the new suit can be built. Maybe some slight alterations to the suit he'd already planned and he might be able to get away with with the injection method.

Izuku rolled his neck before looking at his small desk. He opened one of the books on the desk, specifically the one about Dust infusion methods that were practised in modern times with both the riskier methods and the less risky methods. He'd been looking at Vacuo's own method of infusion - orally ingesting the Dust and using Aura to absorb the dust throughout the digestive system. It was rather weird in the sense that, because the method would make the Dust conflict with the body's innate Aura, it was most useful for people around the J-rating: weaker Aura resulted in a higher risk that the 'digestion' wouldn't occur and result in injury (likely death) whilst those with stronger Aura would reap fewer benefits from the Dust.

Given that the minimum Aura-rating recommended was an F-rating, Izuku's sub-A-rated Aura might make it a death sentence. Then again, he could attempt to recreate the method and optimise it for himself. After all, the method described in the book described digesting raw, unrefined Dust particles and hoping for the best. Would refined Dust help the process?

He sipped his coffee again before looking back at the footage and catching something which nearly made him spill the beverage. One of the other members of the second tribe, outside of the chieftain's family, was using the semblance-like electrical Dust thing he'd observed. That meant the idea of a hereditary semblance was unlikely given that the newest user didn't seem to be related to the other users.

The inventor raised an eyebrow and brought up the controls for that drone, manoeuvring the camera closer to the ground and keeping an eye out on the newest user. Once the camera finally set on the newest user, a young woman who he'd seen going on gathering trips outside the tribe on most days, Izuku pulled up the footage of the day and sped the footage to observe the woman's location throughout the day. At noon, Izuku noticed her go into one of the larger houses that were located in the village and stay there for multiple hours before leaving. Only a few minutes after the girl left the house, she was shown using electricity.

Izuku diverted his attention to the live feed that caused a small smile to grow on his face; the gatherer was testing her electrical abilities out and her inexperience with the power was glaringly obvious. She definitely got the ability recently - potentially less than an hour ago. The boy took a large swig of coffee and swung his arms up in victory, only barely holding in his victory screech.

He reached the scroll which sat on his desk and rang Melissa, "I found it! Melissa, it took me w-way too long but… but I did it. The feed from the second tribe on the shortlist has removed the possibility of hereditary semblance, Dust use is confirmed."

"Any population changes so far?" Melissa asked through the scroll, "Are you sure it's not a risky procedure?"

Izuku shook his head, "Same as it was since we started tracking. I might try and plan a quick visit to that tribe next week. As long as I report my findings to Professor Shield, I should have enough proof to ensure some kind of trip there."

The blonde agreed with him, "Dad's been leading Dust extraction in the Free Banks so an extra use of Dust would be great for marketing and innovative enough for some more brand recognition. Hell, if this works, we might be able to overtake the Schnees in Atlas due to increased demand. And even if we didn't, he's been on board with your idea so as long as you have solid proof, we should be good to go."

Izuku stretched his arms in relief, "I-I'm just glad I can pay you guys back. I mean, the only reason I'm here is that I was lucky to have All Might see me in action. If it wasn't for you guys, I'd still be using my Black Whip/WMG combo from before and I'd be unable to start developing my sedatives or the Blast Bracers."

"You made it in yourself and the whole Dust thing is more to benefit you than us," Melissa said before she sighed, "You better get some sleep now, rewatching all of that footage has completely thrown off your sleep schedule."

"Yeah, only catching four hours of sleep give or take in naps kinda throws me off," the boy smiled to himself, "Might as well get started now. Nothing like a victory to catch some sleep... w-wow, that sounds really conceited. I-I'm just going to sleep now, tell me if your dad agrees with going to the tribe in person when I wake up."

"Will do," the blonde yawned slightly, "Though, I might take a nap first, the prototype 360° vision helmet… thing is annoyingly hard to work with. See ya soon, Izuku."

With the call finished, Izuku quickly cut the feed from most of the drones except those that were located in the shortlisted tribes. He'd set them on their journey back tomorrow and he should get most of them back in a week or so but, for now, he could go to sleep knowing he was a step closer to becoming the huntsman he dreamed to be.

* * *

A few days after the school term ended, Izuku found himself stepping off of an airship with Melissa, Professor Shield and various professional-looking scientists waving him off from inside the landed aircraft. Though the boy felt out of his zone when placed with the professional-looking field scientists, Izuku swallowed his discomfort and smiled at the fact that he was able to inspire and (somewhat) lead an entire investigation. He was still surprised people actually listened to his ideas and that people much more influential than he may ever be were encouraging him to go forward.

It was eventually decided by those scientists that Izuku was to enter the tribe by himself under heavy surveillance from drones, binoculars and a hidden camera on both his black t-shirt's collar and fake glasses as well as a covert earpiece. The idea for this was that Izuku was the most passive, non-threatening person on the ship and thus his presence minimised the chance of a hostile reception. Of course, Izuku may not have thought it was the safest idea for him but, given that he'd been watching the tribe the longest, he'd feel much more comfortable there than anyone else and it was likely that him going in first raised the chance of him learning how the Dust infusion worked.

After Izuku had infiltrated the tribe, the researchers would keep watch to ensure his safety and observe the process of infusion. They'd encouraged him to try and milk any information about the Dust infusion process though Izuku was unsure whether he had the courage to try and coerce that from complete strangers. Once he'd gained their trust, the rest of the team would enter the tribe and attain the method from the tribe professionally.

The problem Izuku might have with the plan was that he needed to be dropped down into the forest a few miles away from the forest to keep the bullhead being seen. He could understand why but it didn't change the fact that he was out in the open in an area where Grimm of all species have been left to themselves to age and develop, making them leagues ahead of the Grimm in the other continents of Remnant.

At least he was able to take a new combination of Black Whip and the Blast Bracers with him, giving him some ways to defend himself from the deadly creatures. Though Izuku did have some confidence in his skill, he doubted he could take a single one of these Grimm alone, which is why he was glad that two professional huntsmen would be shadowing him and clearing the area of nearby threats with five others ready to be deployed should the first two be harmed. Even with that safety net, Izuku still felt on edge despite the serenity of the late-afternoon sun shining down on him.

"I wonder how this infusion method works with injected Dust. I might even be able to combine them together for higher power multipliers," Izuku muttered to himself, "Given that I'm aiming to use electric Dust specifically, there must be a lot of things I can do with it aside from simple strength enhancers and working my suit. Could I shoot electricity from my fingers? That could be a pretty good stun attack, especially if I strike them in the eye. A zap of electricity through the optic nerve would throw a lot of people off and could lead to them being distracted since they'll need to heal. Then again, that could also lead to people's nervous system being short-circuited if I don't control it properly and I'm sure that using it on a person who can't recover from it would get my huntsman license revoked. Unless, it was a job for people that needed to be killed… I don't know if I could do that just yet."

He continued to wonder, "What about electrical manipulation? Could an affinity to electricity lead to controlling electric currents? That could make me a one-man army if I can shut down the nervous system or mess with the brain's synapses. It's unlikely but it'd be so cool to be able to control everything from the lights in a room to the heating and air conditioning."

"And what about Black Whip? I could move from the motion control system to an electric-based one, which gives me more control over how it moves around. It'd also let me use the highest speeds Black Whip moves at more comfortably since motion controls simply aren't quick enough to manoeuvre a Mach 15+ weapon," the boy muttered a little more, "I could also stop using refined Dust to make the whip act as a taser since I'll be able to produce the electricity myself."

"I wonder if there are any other Dust types that I'd want to use," the boy scratched his chin lightly, "Gravity Dust could let me adjust my weight if I can control the way gravity works. I could possibly throw off my opponent by lowering or completely removing the gravity underneath them. That way, I could use my Blast Bracers to throw them back further and increase the gravity to crush them under their weight once they land. Hell, if I don't have a hard limit on my control over gravity, I could lock the Grimm to the ground and make sure they're unable to evade my attacks."

A thought suddenly wandered into his mind, "If I can find the technique for their method, I might even be able to use additional powers. Maybe, if the method allows me to combine Dust types, I might be able to utilise rarer abilities like hard-light Dust with electric Dust."

The idea lingered in his mind for a little while longer before Izuku felt his earpiece ring slightly, indicating that he was being called by Melissa. The boy looked around in case there was a Grimm that could sneak up on him whilst he was distracted. After ensuring he was safe, he tapped on the earpiece twice to allow the call to come through and heard the worried voice of his blonde friend.

"Hey, Izuku... Those huntsmen that were shadowing you have gone quiet. They found a group of Sabyr a while back and haven't reported whether the Grimm have been defeated," Melissa said before the worried tone in her voice increased, "They were given direct orders to report every Grimm they find and every altercation they've found themselves in. We've forced a connection to the earpiece and were unable to get a response. In other words, you're likely out there on your own for now. We're sending another huntsman there to follow you but he's not going to be there for a couple minutes so I recommend keeping an eye out. Pay attention to your left, that's the direction the Sabyr pack might come from since the huntsman spotted them somewhere over there."

"Didn't you give them a clip-on camera?" Izuku raised an eyebrow despite knowing Melissa wouldn't be able to tell, "Have you sent the drones out?"

"You were there when we gave them the camera. It seems like they didn't put the camera on properly since it's slipped off. All we can tell from them is that one camera is facing to the west towards a tree and another is facing the ground so we weren't able to take much info from either camera. And of course, we sent the drones; they're currently sweeping throughout the forest," the blonde seemed to step away from the microphone for a few seconds before speaking again, "We're keeping a camera on you. We're telling you to stay cautious but it's unlikely that something is coming for you. Get to the tribe and use your awkward innocence to try and woo them into letting you in on their techniques."

"Alright, h-how far are we from the target?" Izuku said before hearing his stutter return again, causing him to sigh, "I guess the situation seems a lot scarier when it's hard to distract myself. I thought I was doing pretty good at concealing my nervousness. I-I guess that's what you guys wanted right: use my nervous energy to t-try and woo them."

"Yep, that's exactly what you're meant to do. So, keep that stutter and use it," Melissa said trying to keep a light tone, "The huntsman is a little over a mile away from you but, given that you're a little under a quarter of a mile from the tribe, it's likely that you'll be at the settlement before the huntsman will be able to get to you. Are you ready to enter the tribe?"

"No... They seem pretty passive in my observation. But, how do you think a tribe will react when they meet new people? Everyone instinctively treats the unknown as a threat," Izuku said before sighing a little, "If I made a miscalculation or I was unable to predict their actions, I might not walk out of the tribe. But... it's a risk I have to take. We're already too far in to return with nothing."

His blonde friend went silent for a few seconds, "Izuku, it's not too late to pull out now. If you don't want to go in, I can send in another huntsman and escort you back. The choice to enter the tribe is all on you and everyone will accept your decision; even if you're not the one to actually enter the tribe, you were the one to find out everything about them and let the operation begin in the first place. Someone can always try later."

"No, no, I still want to do this. I spent so long researching this that leaving the job to someone else would feel wrong," Izuku answered. Not a moment later, the call was cut from Melissa's side which caused Izuku a slight bit of worry.

Looking behind him for a second, the boy found the drone that Melissa mentioned earlier. It was still following him and he could see the cameras swiveling every now and then to keep the coast clear. At least he knew they were still watching, it gave him peace of mind if nothing else.

The boy took a deep breath, knowing that he was maybe a minute or two from the tribe. His palms were getting a little sweaty and he could feel his hairs standing on the back of his neck... had he been this nervous this entire time? He hadn't thought so but he knew he needed to iron it out quickly; accidentally attracting a Grimm to the tribe wouldn't earn him any favours-.

He closed his eyes and walked forwards. He calmed himself down a little by listening to the sounds of the forest. With the birds chirping and the brushing of grass and leaves, it was no wonder Izuku lost himself to the tranquil atmosphere. If the Grimm ever disappeared or were eradicated, more people could enjoy this area. Enjoy nature instead of fearing for their-

Izuku opened his eyes when he walked into something. It felt hard, almost like the sturdy trunk of a tree, and the boy was confused for a moment before looking up. It was a woman, the very same one he'd observed gaining her new electrical powers and the one who led to him coming to the tribe in the first place.

"H-Hello?" she questioned, stuttering ever so slightly. "You... you have no Aura. W-why can't I sense your Aura? Y-You can't be..."

Izuku's mind raced at a mile a minute... how could she sense his Aura, or lack thereof? He knew that strong Aura could often be felt by other people (an example being All Might's ability to somehow force everyone around him to feel that raw power.) But Izuku's Aura can't be sensed by some of the most professional equipment and there was no way that a random woman could sense him, was there?

"M-My Aura is really weak... I'm b-basically Auraless..." Izuku rushed his words out, mind still racing, "H-How c-could you tell?"

His question seemed to fall on deaf ears since she continued with, "Y-You really are... I never thought it was possible."

The boy paid special attention to the voice. A little refined, definitely not the rough accent that might come from people who'd been out of touch with the rest of the world. Definitely felt like an accent from over a century ago. It was weirdly melodic, in his opinion, and he had to keep himself from just... listening to it.

"E-er, y-yes. I'm Auraless a-and that's k-kind of w-why I came here. E-er I-I kind of h-heard that t-the tribes a-around here u-use Dust. A-And I-I've always wanted to become a huntsman and using Dust would allow me to a-achieve my dream," Izuku started to ramble, "S-so, c-can y-you help m-me, please? I-It w-would m-mean so much and... I-I guess t-there isn't a real reason f-for you to l-let me be i-infused with electric D-Dust."

"I-Infused with electric Dust? O-Of course I can help, w-why wouldn't I?" she asked, seeming just as awkward as Izuku.

Said boy was confused by her words. Throughout the entire time he'd spent surveying the tribe, there had only been one person to ever develop electrical abilities. If they didn't do it that often, they shouldn't be this open about their Dust infusion abilities to him, a complete outsider. The only reason he could think of for the openness was that it was a trap.

It also confirmed his suspicions of them using Dust. Until this moment, he was still unsure about whether the tribe actually uses Dust. At this point, if nothing else, he knew that he was right in pursuing this lead and that felt reassuring to him. Once he was back at I-Island, he could rest at ease knowing that all the effort he'd spent setting up the drones and watching the tribes hadn't been wasted.

The woman grabbed his hand causing him to flinch slightly; it tingled as though a slight bit of electricity was constantly going into his skin. This was the second confirmation that the powers could be given to other people as well as an indication that the transfer didn't take too long since the woman in front of him had returned to her normal schedule soon after leaving the house.

He let himself be pulled along with the girl, knowing that he'd been successful in entering the tribe. Going with someone else would make it easier for Izuku to gain the trust of whoever handled the transfer. Now all he had to do was make sure that they continued to trust him. After the first few steps, Izuku noticed that he was getting less and less time to try and keep his pace with the woman. It was almost as if she was speeding up gradually. Less than a dozen steps later, Izuku felt the wind speed past his body and saw the world around him blur further.

With the boy in tow, the woman passed two houses and took a hard turn to the largest house in the settlement, which the boy knew to be the house of the chieftain and the place he had assumed the woman may have gained her abilities. She stopped herself just in front of the house before opening the door and pulling him gently inside.

Izuku followed her lead, assuming that the woman was somewhat familiar with the house. Treading slowly, he trailed just behind to show somewhat of a connection between the two but just far enough for there not to be any awkward contact. The slow walk led him to an older woman who looked to be in her late 30's.

Flashing a small smile, the woman seemed to look prideful upon noticing him. It was almost as if she'd been expecting him and was relieved that he'd finally arrived. Had she seen him before? He doubted it but how could she expect him? Was she expecting him or expecting someone who'd be looking for a Dust infusion? Maybe she noticed he was Auraless like how the woman that found him in the forest did.

After letting his eyes wander for a few seconds, the boy noticed the room seemed to be some kind of congregation hall, wide enough for a small crowd along with a sizable dinner table running through the middle and what seemed to be a hand-carved wooden throne a few metres away from the table, on which the older woman sat. Along with this, the boy saw a circular stone slab built into the wooden floor.

That really made his mind run. Why have a stone slab inside a wooden hut? The main difference between the two materials that came to Izuku's mind was that stone was less susceptible to being burned down by stray sparks than wood. If this was a training room of sorts, shouldn't the entire room be made of stone? Something was important about that specific spot that it needed a stone slab and Izuku was sure it wasn't because it looked nice. He was sure that he wasn't overthinking everything and was being perfectly calm and rational.

"A-Are you o-okay… A-Auraless person?" the younger woman asked skittishly, "W-We'll be a-able to get the infusion done before sundown."

Izuku nodded meekly, unnerved by her nervousness (if that made any sense), "T-Thank you. I-It's s-so nice of y-you to go through with the process on s-such s-short notice."

The older woman looked at him with a slight bit of intrigue, "Correct me if I'm wrong but are you truly Auraless? I believe that's what the girl beside you said."

"K-Kind of. My Aura is weak enough that I've been classed as an Auraless person. T-That's why I'm here… I want t-to to become stronger and protect people so-" the boy was about to justify being infused with Dust but the woman raised a finger to her lips and silenced him.

"Show me your Aura," she said with a tone of authority Izuku didn't have the courage to deny.

In a second, Izuku took a deep breath and forced his aura out. It stayed there for a second before either the wind, a stray dust particle or a mix of the two landed somewhere on his skin to cause it to break his Aura. He heard the familiar sound of Aura breaking, he'd listened to that often when he deluded himself into thinking he could train his Aura to become useful.

"So… was that your full capacity?" she asked with slight confusion, "If that truly is, you might just qualify."

The boy's eyes widened suddenly. She said qualified and it seemed like she was looking specifically for an Auraless person. In any other situation, Izuku would be confused by this criteria but, given the reason why he came here, it made sense. The boy blushed slightly in discomfort; he doesn't think he'll ever be truly comfortable with his condition but that couldn't be helped.

"T-That was my full capacity. As I said before, my Aura is weak enough that I-I might as well be considered Auraless," Izuku answered honestly, "I-I hope that doesn't stop you from going through w-with the infusion."

"Not at all. You might as well be the closest we'll ever get to the perfect subject. It may take some time to begin but we'll go through with the process in less than an hour. I believe we have most of the items needed and the person that brought you here should be able to procure any missing items within that time," she said with a small smile, "No need to worry, you just need to wait for a while. Is there anything you want to ask about the infusion?"

"Y-Yes," Izuku frowned for a second and tried to suppress his stuttering, "Yes. I guess I really want to know how. After all, the method has been lost in modern society, so you might be one of the few places on Remnant to carry out the procedures."

"Of course, you shouldn't blindly go into a procedure without some basic knowledge. The way we do this is half ingestion and half injection. June, the girl that brought you here, has gone to get the ingredients for the ingested part whilst I can carry out the injection process," the woman smiled slightly when she noticed some discomfort, "Don't worry, we have a certified medic in the tribe. You don't need to worry about dirty needles or anything unhygienic, we've done this process numerous times, including one we did less than a month ago… Any more questions?"

Izuku waited, allowing the woman's confidence to calm a few of his fears, "C-Can I ask how the procedures work? Since most other methods require some Aura to let the Dust into the body, how would someone completely Auraless be infused with Dust?"

"It's rather simple. Other methods need the user to use their Aura because those methods force the Dust into the boy's Aura in an imperfect, unstable relationship. That's why they're so volatile and can lead to the death of the infused post-operation since the Aura eventually gives up on maintaining the connection," a hint of pride seeped into her voice as she continued, "We use a method developed by our ancestors to fuse the Dust into the physical body and keep them in perfect sync. By ensuring that we combine a physical material into a physical object, we face a simpler process than combining a physical material into a metaphysical object. It's perplexing that the more complicated, less effective way has stayed in the outside world and the simpler, more effective way has been left to small communities and settlements."

"Oh… So, the electric Dust goes directly into the body. I-Is that similar to how people inject Dust into the bloodstream?" Izuku asked before remembering how the process worked, "Is that what the injection part of the process is for? If so, why do I need to consume something?"

"You're a smart boy; you're right, the reason we inject something into your bloodstream is based off of the practice of injecting refined Dust into the veins," the woman confirmed his suspicions, "Of course, we do more than that. That method is only a temporary power boost and needs to be reapplied regularly to sustain the power. Our way will only need to be applied once with optional lighter supplements of Dust that you can take by yourself should you want to increase your capabilities."

"So, there's room for me to improve my powers…" Izuku said to himself and trailed off, keeping that thought in the back of his mind.

"Any other questions?" the woman asked patiently, "Or are you confident enough to go through with the infusion?"

Izuku wondered aloud, "Why are you so open about the process? I thought you'd be more secretive."

The woman laughed lightly, "We are somewhat secretive about the method but we don't treat it as more than it actually is: a tool. And even if we weren't, you don't know enough to do it yourself and, even if you did, you'd be unable to replicate it. You only know enough to be confident in any decisions you make and I don't mind telling you a little more if you still haven't come to one. Though, I must tell you that even with our seemingly open-nature, I won't tell you everything; there are some things that I'm unable to tell you due to certain rules we have."

"No, no need to ask much more. I think I know at least enough to try. You guys also treated this as a much bigger deal than it should be after all, w-what with me being Auraless… O-On that topic, how did you know I was Auraless? I've never heard of people who can sense Aura so… finely."

The woman seemed to be confused by his question, "Is that not common? We usually train that into children early on so that, if they ever wander too far into the woods, they can find their way back easily. I'd have thought that it'd be one of the most popular techniques given how large this planet is; it is common sense to find your way back to civilization whenever you're lost, isn't it?"

"Not really. Maybe our reliance on communication-based technology has led to us throwing away communication-based Aura techniques," Izuku sighed, "I guess that's better for people like me though, I'd be screwed if the world focused solely on Aura."

"Maybe it is for the better, maybe it is..." the woman said before looking behind him to see the door open half-way, "But I believe we've already collected all the components needed. Can you wait here for a second whilst we prepare? We'll be back in about ten minutes so I'm sure you can handle yourself."

"Er… sure."

"That's good. Think about how your life will change after obtaining Dust powers," the woman waved her hand before walking out of the door.

Izuku watched the door for several seconds, listening to the heavy thuds going down the stairs. As soon as the footsteps faded out of view, his earpiece started ringing, causing him to stumble out of his seat from shock. Once he was able to shrug off the shock, he accepted the call.

"Izuku, we've been watching the hidden cameras for the past few minutes and you seem to be fine from what we've seen. The drones patrolling outside have let us know there isn't an ambush so we think you're safe for now…" Melissa told him via the earpiece, "Is there anything you want to know?"

"Nothing much, there's nothing too suspicious so I think we can continue on without that much caution. Though, I would like to ask if you've found the huntsmen that went missing on the way here," the boy responded under his breath, having kept the thought at the back of his mind. He'd been hoping that the investigation he led hadn't caused any deaths.

"They made it out, if that's what you're wondering, but they're staying on the airship. People aren't lying when they say that the Grimm of Tenerbris are in a league of their own. We have our medical team, as small as it is, to heal them on our way back to I-Island. We're unsure if we can wait here much longer though so can you tell us if they're willing to share their method?" the blonde responded, "Our main goal was originally just for you to attain some Dust powers so don't be worried if they haven't told you yet."

"No, they haven't told me enough for you to replicate it and I doubt they will. But, they did say that I'll be able to get the procedure done by sundown so I doubt that you'll need to wait much longer," Izuku whispered back.

"Alright then. Since sundown is pretty soon, we'll be watching through the hidden camera on your person to watch this process as close as we can," Melissa reassured him with a hint of confidence, "From here on out, I'll only be muting our mic instead of cutting the connection. We'll inform you of any changes to the current situation. Stay safe, Izuku!"

"I will, Mellisa," Izuku said before the corners of his lips rose slightly, "See you soon."

He waited for a reply but didn't receive any so he sat there patiently, waiting for whatever the two women were doing to finish. With no one to talk to, the tension in the room spiked. This was the result of a choice he'd made weeks ago and it might lead to his death. He spent several seconds thinking about whether it was likely he'd live through this but shoved it to the back of his mind soon after it came up; there was no benefit in worrying when it was too late to turn back. He'd face his decision head on and suffer any consequences that would come because of it.

With that mindset, Izuku waited the last few minutes before the door edged open slowly with the older woman sauntering into the room. In her hand, there was a stone bowl filled close to the brim with some sort of yellow, liquid concoction that made Izuku both eager and hesitant at the same time. It was a weird mix of emotions that Izuku couldn't really explain: the fact that he could finally see his goal and it was in reach made him so excited to get it over with but his overactive, cautious mind was already creating scenarios that might happen if he drinks the liquid.

"This is the part of the process where I need you to drink something. From what I remember, it's slightly sour and causes a slight burning in the back of your throat so I hope you can tolerate that. Also, the yellow colour comes from the electric Dust so don't worry about the hygiene. Once you've swallowed all of it, I'll start the injection process and we'll get this over and done with," the woman explained with a hint of a smile.

The boy took the bowl out of her hands and noticed how the bowl was cool to the touch. He'd have thought the latent energy in the electric Dust would cause the liquid to feel somewhat warm but it appeared he was wrong. His eyes shifted to the woman, as if to ask whether he should drink it now, to which she nodded. With a final look at the liquid, he raised the bowl up to his lips and tipped the contents into his mouth.

There wasn't a word Izuku knew that could describe how electric Dust rushing down your throat felt. Whilst the initial sour taste lasted for a few seconds, the burning in the back of his throat, as well as the myriad of other sensations he felt, overstayed their welcome. Even after the boy grit his teeth and forced the rest of the liquid down his throat, the sensations remained as strong as it started.

"The burning usually stays for several minutes so I suggest you sit tight and let your body adapt," the adult stated with a slight bit of enthusiasm before looking behind her and waving forwards, "This young man over here will be the one to inject you with the Dust since he's the village doctor."

From the door she'd entered through, a man in plain white clothes stepped forwards with a syringe full of yellow contents in his hand. Izuku looked at the man with slight apprehension before calming his fears for now. It wasn't like he should be trusting any of the other people he'd met given that he'd only met them less than an hour ago so what was letting a different stranger inject random things into his bloodstream going to do?

The doctor pointed at his arm and Izuku realised what he needed to do: take off his clothes and, unknown to them, one of his hidden cameras. He complied and removed the thin piece of clothing and gave the medic a clear view of the nitroglycerin canisters. Izuku waited for the syringe to pierce his skin before realising his error and removing the weapon sheepishly. Without a warning, a needle slid into his arm followed by the unfamiliar feeling of pushing foreign materials into the body.

It was better this way, given that it gave Izuku less time to rationalise not taking the injection and eventually back out. The initial feeling of his skin being pierced and something being pushed into his body was replaced with pain. Pure, unadulterated pain. The boy let out a shriek as his veins felt as though they were filled with liquid fire. It was as if someone had replaced the blood in his body with molten rock.

Izuku wanted to grit his teeth and face the brunt of the pain but it was only then he was reminded of what was happening. He, an inexperienced fifteen-year-old student, went deep into the forest of a continent renowned for being dangerous and allowed tribal residents of said continent to inject something into his body. It was stupid. He was stupid.

The pain seemed to lighten slightly for a second before it came back stronger than before. Falling to his knees, Izuku pushed his palms against the floor to try and hold himself up. He screamed at the top of his lungs as his veins spiked in pain again although this time, Izuku tried to channel the power surging through him; if he could control this torrent of pure energy, he could put this behind him. Finally just make a suit of armour that he technically didn't even need...

The pain cut out but his muscles felt weak. Lethargically, he tried to push himself up but he collapsed. Time slowed around him as the world darkened. Was this what death felt like? It was too early for him, wasn't it? As the last of his vision was darkening, he could only think of how he would die... like an overly ambitious fool.

"-ku! Izuku! Don't die on us!" a voice screamed through the earpiece causing the boy to grit his teeth harder. Had she been calling him this entire time? He hadn't noticed it over the searing pain but she must've been worried. He wanted to say something to assure her that he hadn't died yet but he couldn't move his mouth to make a sound. It wouldn't matter in the end though; he'll die and nothing is going to stop that...

* * *

"Izuku!" Melissa screamed through the microphone on the airship. She spun her chair to face a monitor that was connected to the cameras on Izuku's person. The one they had placed on the t-shirt had no visual on Izuku and the camera on the fake glasses was pointed towards the wooden floor.

"Is he okay?" Professor Shield asked with a slightly grim tone, "The huntsmen are ready for an infiltration mission."

Melissa looked at her dad with a sombre look, "I think we're too late…"

"Even if he is, we need to bring him back. We can't return without him; we must show respect for the dead, Melissa. You should know that…" The bearded man let his words hang before looking back at the group of huntsmen. Excluding the huntsmen that have been harmed, there were only five that could follow through to retrieve Izuku. Unsure of their chances, they'd have to set out to go save the boy.

"The Sabyr pack are back," Melissa called back after taking control of some of the drones, "We need the huntsmen there ASAP; if Izuku's still alive and we don't send them now, we may have left him to his death."

"How many are there?" her dad asked, "The two we sent last time were defeated by fifteen of them."

"There's twenty that I can clearly see. I think there are five to ten more that are outside of view… Will they be able to fight them off?" the blonde asked hopefully, "With five of them, it must be doable!"

She looked towards the five huntsmen that were already geared up for combat. They would go into the forest to save him. The girl spun around and watched the cameras again seeing that the camera on Izuku's glasses had changed its visual from a wooden floor to a stone floor and the camera on his shirt had broken.

"I'll keep an eye on the Grimm so they don't escape. You can count on me!" Melissa said with determination, "We'll get Izuku back, no matter what."

David nodded before handing out a set of earpieces that are all connected to his. After ensuring a connection between the huntsmen and the airship, the man opened the main door and rushed them out. There was no time for waiting around; they had a student to save.

* * *

Izuku opened his eyes to feel a smooth sensation on the back of his head. He rose up from his position, feeling his veins start searing from the injection. Speaking of which, he had no idea what the injection had done. He didn't notice any kind of physical boost which left Izuku on edge. Now on his feet, the boy looked around him and didn't see any people in the room: not the doctor or the woman or anyone. He was alone in the room with nothing but silence for company.

The silence broke due to a low growl that was followed by the crackle of electricity. Picking up the Blast Bracers and equipping them as quickly as he could, the boy ran down the stairs and manoeuvred his way around tables and hand-carved furniture to arrive at the door which he could swing open with little more than a push from his right hand. The sight that greeted him immediately removed any fatigue he felt; there was a Grimm attack.

Izuku raised his arms up and let the blast bracers charge up. He was outclassed and outnumbered but his only other option was either to stay in the house as a sitting duck or try to fight his way out. There was a chance that the infusion process was actually successful but Izuku doubted it. He should be thankful there was a big enough distraction for him to escape.

"Izuku? Are you awake?" he heard Melissa call out, "Can you speak through the mic?"

"I'm awake. However, I may not be for long if I don't start moving," Izuku spoke through the microphone, comforted by the familiar voice, "Which direction is the airship?"

"Just run straight forwards and lose the Sabyr. Once you're safe, I'll direct you to the airship," the girl said. Izuku didn't see a flaw in her logic so he nodded to himself and mentally prepared himself for the following fight.

With a fully-charged blast ready to be deployed in an instant, he broke into a sprint to fight through the pack. A few seconds into the sprint, Izuku spotted a single Sabyr getting ready to chase him. A quick estimate told the boy that the Grimm was going to reach him in around twenty seconds.

He let the tension rise as the seconds ticked by and the distance between him and the building he left grew larger. With the Sabyr now less than ten seconds away, Izuku raised his right arm and released a blast at point-blank range. Knowing that a single blast wouldn't kill the creature, he shoved his left palm onto the shadowy skin and detonated a second explosion.

Following the attack, Izuku extended Black Whip and wrapped it around one of the demon's paws and swung it back towards the settlements. Using the small window of time he'd created, he sprinted forwards even further. Of course, the plan was disrupted once the Sabyr had almost caught up to him again.

With a quick thought rushing through his head, Izuku jumped and released a quick explosion to propel him upwards. Using the height boost, Izuku swung Black Whip around a branch which led to him swinging from branch to branch via the wires at speeds much faster than his sprint. The boy peeked over his shoulder to see that, whilst the distance between him and the Sabyr had grown slightly, it wasn't enough to remove the threat.

"Hey, Izuku. Looking at the drone's camera feed, I can see a couple Sabyr a hundred metres behind you," Melissa called out before pausing for a second, "They don't seem to be after you but they're starting to wander in your direction. Don't stay there for too long."

He nodded but also acknowledged that he couldn't continue running forever, the inventor made a final swing towards another branch before letting all the momentum he'd gained let him swing all the way around the branch and directly onto the Sabyr with his full body weight. It was a heavy attack and one that required a lot of effort but he knew it wasn't enough. If it was, two huntsmen wouldn't have been injured by a pack of them.

With the heavy gauntlet, Izuku palm-striked the Grimm before releasing a quick explosion into its skin. Having stunned the Grimm, Izuku threw a left hook before following it with an explosion-propelled elbow. With the stun having worn off, the boy used two wires to push the Grimm back into one of the trees.

The damage done via the attack wasn't enough for Izuku to follow up with a barrage of attacks. With a quick movement, Izuku slid a wire around the predator's neck and yanked the rope upwards as hard as he could. Whilst it didn't tear the head of the creature off, it did immobilise it by keeping it in the air.

Izuku pulled the creature closer to him and pulled it into the reach of two large full-powered blasts. The force was strong enough that the Sabyr was thrown back into the air with a pained cry as well as causing it to slip though Black Whip's grip and far from the inventor's reach. Despite inflicting damage as well as knocking the creature back, Izuku doubted he'd done enough for the attack to contribute to anything.

Watching it prowl back to him like an invulnerable demon, the boy could only stare in both fascination and trepidation. Izuku, expecting the creature to start associating Black Whip with danger, cracked the numerous wires in hopes of scaring the Sabyr away. Instead, the demonic creature pounced forwards, front claws digging through the inventor's clothes and cutting into his skin as well as pushing him to the ground.

Izuku flinched, noticing the blood that started dripping from the scratch marks. He needed to fix that ASAP but not before he got the situation alive. WIth his priorities straight, he leaned back into the ground and used all of his wires to push the weight of the animal off of him. Rolling forwards onto his feet, the boy slammed his palm into the forehead of the beast and released a charged blast before Black Whip followed by slamming the animal into the ground.

FIlled with annoyance, Izuku charged and released a flurry of explosions at close-range before backpedalling slightly to evade a blind swing from the animal's paw. A second swing caught him off guard and connected to his bicep, creating a dent in the metal exterior of the canister. The blow threw him off of his feet and onto the ground. His arm hurt, his chest stung from open wounds and he was tired.

He closed his eyes, leaving himself to his fate. Despite preparing himself, the sudden feeling of teeth sinking into his left calf caused the boy to let out a short, pained scream… which was echoed by the Grimm. It yelped in pain, as if it scalded itself, before jumping backwards and looking at him cautiously.

Izuku cringed from the agonising pain and tried to stand up before falling back to the ground. The injuries on his leg caused a maelstrom of pain to rush his senses but it seemed the moment of agony wouldn't be used against him given the growing distance between the boy and the Sabyr. Without standing, he checked the damaged canister before detaching it from his arm and charging a blast in the other arm. With a slight movement of his arms, the canister was thrown towards the Grimm who caught the cylinder between its teeth and damaged it further.

With a release of the trigger, the boy released an explosion towards the creature which created some distance between the two as well as damaging the canister even further. Izuku then switched the Blast Bracers to its flamethrower settings and released a stream of flames towards the Grimm who bared its teeth and strode towards it. Having focused the stream into the Grimm's mouth and the canister being damaged, the boy only needed to wait for a few seconds before the Sabyr mouth lit up with explosive energy.

Blown back by the blast, the creature was thrown backwards which caused Izuku to sigh in relief before thinking of his following attacks. As much as he wanted to run away from the Sabyr, he'd either have to slowly limp his way in fear of an attack or attack first. As a result, he ran to one of the largest trees he saw, the boy released a mini explosion at the base of the tree before completely pulling the top of the tree off with two wires and repeating the procedure on another tree.

With two, hefty tree trunks behind him, the boy slowly made his way towards where the Sabyr was. albeit slowly. His left leg hurt like hell and he could swear the blood that was coming slightly faster than before as well as the slight buzz in his veins he was unable to ignore. He briefly thought about trying to cauterise the wound but dismissed the idea given he was unable to channel enough confidence to do it with his flamethrower and the metal of the Blast Bracers.

His slow limp led him to the demon in question; he saw the weakened Sabyr lazily wandering towards him a few metres away. The Grimm didn't even have a moment to react before two tree trunks were slammed onto its back and pressed it to the ground with no escape. With the added weight, the creature would need to wait for the last beams of light to fall below the horizon so that it could become stronger.

Izuku took a deep breath, knowing that the animal would inevitably free itself. Knowing this, the boy released flames from his gauntlets and set the wood alight. If Izuku was unable to kill the creature, he could at least leave it wounded enough that it couldn't chase after him. With the crackling of the flames and the pained howls of the Sabyr as music to his ears, he turned away and was ready to start moving.

And then he felt fangs sinking into his unprotected bicep before being thrown to the ground. The same phenomenon happened as last time: the Sabyr which had bit him had also flinched back in pain. The inventor let loose all of his pain in an ear-piercing scream. It was in that moment of sheer pain where Izuku's veins suddenly burned with unwavering energy.

The blood that dripped from the wound fell to the ground causing a few sparks which set the grass ablaze. Pain which had persisted in his body was gone now, barely a flicker where there should have been a bright forest fire. The only feeling left was that buzz, now more prominent and stronger than ever.

Sparks rolled down his shoulders and Izuku looked at the newcomer with confidence. He had no idea what the limit of this power was. All he knew was that there was a power boost and it was more than a slight buff. He felt… energised, strong. Was this the feeling that activating Aura brought to people?

Using Black Whip, the boy lashed the creature on the side of the head before wrapping the whip around the head and throwing it towards the burning logs. The Grimm looked at the inventor warily, as if sizing him up, before slamming a paw into the log and batting it off of their fellow Grimm. Izuku lashed the unharmed Sabyr with all four wires, causing the creature to be sent directly into the burning logs and leading to the wood being crushed under the demon's weight.

Now with two opponents, Izuku wasn't sure if he would be able to run away. But, before he could choose, the Sabyr decided to go on the offensive. Izuku sidestepped away from one paw swing, ducked beneath another and was then forced backwards by an attempted bite before he retaliated with a blast and a smack from Black Whip.

The other Grimm had dashed behind him and attempted to pounce on him to which he was able to roll away. With a quick movement, Izuku jabbed a wire into the both of the Sabyr's eyes. Now dealing with a blinded opponent, he used his wires to swing the blinded Grimm into the other causing them both to land in a heap.

WIth a quick estimate of how long it may take for the Grimm to get back up, Izuku retracted his wires and went to use the time to trap them under some logs. As soon as he turned away, he heard a loud crackle of electricity from behind him. Pivoting on his right foot and ready to fight, the boy looked up to notice the smug look of the woman he'd talked to in that house. Izuku was about to run in to fight before he realised that the woman, true to her word, had injected him with Dust and infused it into him. If he attacked her, he'd just be ungrateful.

"So, you've awakened to one of your new powers, Auraless boy," the woman smiled at him slowly, "You're putting up quite a fight for one who was born without Aura."

She raised her palm towards the two Sabyr who'd gotten to their feet before releasing pure energy in the form of a stream of electricity. The sparks showered off of the Grimm and set the ground ablaze. When that didn't seem to be enough, she raised one palm towards the sky and tensed the palm that was pointed at the Grimm.

In a brilliant flash of light, Izuku watched as lightning struck the raised palm before being redirected into the tense palm. The Sabyr roared in pain, weak as they were, yet were still hanging on, if only by the skin of their teeth. Responding to their survival, the woman pushed her feet deep into the ground and stopped the stream of electricity.

Izuku would have been afraid that she had run out of electricity but he was proven wrong when a flash of burning white light blinded him. From the noise alone, Izuku knew the attack lasted for less than a second and finished the Grimm for good.

"Your survival is most impressive against these creatures; they're in a class where I have to put in effort to exterminate them," she praised him with slight glee in her tone, "Though I think that you should be aiming higher. I should explain what's pumping through your veins."

"The Dust?" Izuku questioned whilst waiting for his vision to return to normal.

"Yes. More specifically, which Dust we put into you. You've already awakened the electric Dust given those sparks I see but I doubt you've awakened to the energy Dust. It's of no concern, the fact that you're still alive is reason enough that the method worked," she said casually, "There is no rush, after all. Develop at your own pace."

"... I could've died from that, right?" Izuku asked grimly. Even if he was aware of the risk, the fact that he had a brush with death really solidified how stupid this really was.

"Yes. Even our method isn't perfect but it's about as close you'll get to perfect odds," the woman confirmed his assumptions, "I'm sure you knew that already. Maybe you were just too inexperienced to completely comprehend it. However, I should clarify what the infusion has done to your body. In short, your heart has been altered to produce Dust inside of your blood and you can use that Dust at will. Whilst this means you'll never truly need to replenish the Dust in your body, you are still able to exhaust your supply if you use it constantly. After that, you'll have to wait until your heart can produce more Dust so that it can be used again."

"H-how do I improve it?" the boy asked given his slight boost was nothing compared to whatever that final attack from the woman was.

"As I said, your Dust supply comes from your heart. Think of your Dust to be like your heart, a muscle that will grow stronger with use. Speaking of which, a good cardiovascular system is extremely important to Dust efficiency given that is where your supply is," she laughed slightly, "However, you'll inevitably want to increase your capacity which can be done via injecting more Dust. It can also be done by ingesting small amounts of Dust which will be absorbed by your body. It'll taste a little strange at first but you'll adapt."

"Also, how will I activate the energy Dust already in me?" the boy asked with a few questions raised from all of the information he was taking in. He'd never read about anyone who had multiple Dust types infused into him due to increasing the risk of an already dangerous technique.

"You just have to wait until your body has fully adapted. It might take anywhere from a few hours to a few days but it likely won't take more than that," she explained before looking at him smugly, "However, I'd recommend focusing on the electric Dust first. From what I've seen right now, I'd wager that it's… one percent of what you're capable of right now. Gain some level of control on one Dust before moving onto the next or, better yet, master one and move onto the other. You're in a unique situation: Auraless and yet with so much firepower. Like the number zero, you're empty and valueless yet full of infinite potential."

She looked at him with pride, "Maybe one day we'll see what you're capable of. You found us once, maybe return in a few years… That is, if you're not going to stay in the tribe for a while. I wouldn't mind teaching you a few techniques if you're willing to learn. You may also want some treatment for those wounds; the Dust in your blood won't protect you from most infections so come along."

Izuku waited for a few seconds before he heard Melissa call out, "Go with her, Izuku! I'll inform the rest of what's going on and tell them that you're safe. Despite having an hour to get to the tribe, they never reached it due to there being more Sabyr than we expected. You have a few hours so make the most of it."

The student nodded, both to Melissa and the woman ahead of him. He'd rather have someone teach him then have to stumble around with the power and see what works and what doesn't. Izuku followed the woman who was slowly walking back to the tribe.

"Just one more day," Izuku whispered under his breath, "One more day and I'll be in a lab developing my suit.


	4. I-Island Expo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say. Why haven't I updated this? To be completely honest, I just forgot that I was cross posting to AO3 and was writing the following chapters. Yeah... I don't have much to say other than sorry.

Electricity zapped between Izuku's index fingers and he watched the sparks fly between them, content to see the newest application of his powers. It had been nearly a year and a half since the boy had fused with Dust and, ever since that day, the boy has been working on his control to make the most of his new power. Despite all of the time that had passed, Izuku hadn't pushed past 10% of his electric Dust usage and 5% of his energy Dust. Some would say that Izuku was learning extremely slowly but it was the opposite; instead of learning how to use more power, he gained a tighter control on the amount he already had. At the moment, he could adjust his electric Dust by a quarter per cent whilst he could only adjust the energy Dust by single per cent increments.

He lay on his bed, looking on edge. There was a very simple reason for this: the I-Expo was today and Izuku was meant to showcase one of his newest tools. Today, he was going to show the two varieties of a new set of headgear he'd created: a helmet with a visor or a pair of smart glasses which would allow the user to switch between normal sight, infrared vision and night vision as well as zoom functionality from 1x to 5x in a single piece of gear. It was taken directly out of the boy's ever-developing suit of armour, albeit with a few features missing and less durability.

Due to his lack of social skills, Izuku was unsure how he'd be able to present his opinion invention live in front of actual people. Although he'd pitched several patented ideas to both I-Island's business sector and some other manufacturing companies, those pitches were usually in front of two or three people and/or with someone else alongside him to keep his nerves calm. This time, Izuku was by himself pitching to hundreds or even thousands of people and he was more nervous than he'd ever been before.

Thankfully, he'd been allotted a time slot at around 8 pm. At the moment, it was slightly past 6:15 pm so the boy had over an hour before he'd need to go downstairs and start setting up. With that time, he was going to relax, or at least try and get as close to relaxing as possible. Raising both hands and arching his fingers together, the boy sent a slight jolt out one finger and into the other before circulating the electricity between the fingers.

The exercise was a testament to the amount of control the boy now had. Redirecting external electricity into the body was hard. It was a skill Izuku hadn't mastered until a year after gaining the power but it was one that the boy thoroughly enjoyed due to its practicality. It meant that he was safe from all electric-based attacks as well as let him work with open wires without the fear of being electrocuted.

A knock was heard at the door which disrupted Izuku's concentration on the task and made him stop the current. The boy rose from the chair and opened the door before gesturing for the blonde in front of him to enter the room. As she did so, she patted him on the head.

"What was that for?" Izuku asked with a raised eyebrow

"Just a pat on the head. You're handling your first active expo pretty well," the girl smiled at him brightly, "I guess I'm just pretty proud of you for not breaking down yet. You're lasting much longer than I did."

Izuku nodded before noticing that the girl was wearing a formal dress consisting of a sleeveless two-tone dress (dark blue above the waist and a lighter sky blue below) that reached her knees as well as styling her hair into a ponytail. The boy himself was wearing similarly formal clothes in the form of a striped burgundy suit and trousers along with a yellow shirt and bowtie underneath.

"I guess I'm just hiding it better. Maybe it's the suit and tie; if I fake the confidence, I might be able to make said confidence. Well, that or you're just bad at reading people's faces and there's no confidence at all," he joked with a slight snigger.

Melissa rolled her eyes, "Maybe I am. But, that doesn't change the fact you're handling it pretty well. Then again, you're just taking parts from Dreamcatcher and remaking them as a consumer product."

Izuku nodded slowly, agreeing with her, "Well, it's not like it was on the market before so I guess it doesn't matter."

The boy stood up from his seat and walked over to a metal cylinder in the corner of the room. It had a laminated glass window, which showed the armour inside, above a small inscription which read Dreamcatcher, which was the name Izuku gave to the project soon after it started. After quickly inputting the passcode onto the small number pad next to the window, the metal slid into the walls of the cylinder so that the boy could remove the armour.

Dreamcatcher was Izuku's crowning achievement. On the outside, the exterior consisted of green metal plates, which made up the torso, thighs and arms of the armour, whilst a silver metal was used for the forearms and gloves as well as everything below the knees. As well as this, two silver plates jutted out of the armour and went from each shoulder blade to slightly past his collarbone. Around the waist of the armour, there were two holsters to the right side whilst several pockets for magazines and grenades were found to the left side.

But, that was just the exterior. Below his forearms, Black Whip and the Blast Bracers were hidden with a few adjustments. In short, Black Whip was shorter, thicker and heavier, due to the extra space available, as well as being electricity-operated so it could use jolts sent by Izuku to operate the motors instead of the motion-based system that the prior model used. The Blast Bracers were reworked to make the most of Izuku's electric Dust to allow for instant detonation, charge longer blasts and allow easy one-handed detonations. The fuel stores were also moved around so that fire Dust was found around his forearms whilst the explosive formula now dubbed the 'Nitroglycerin+' formula' (due to the addition of metal oxide and metal powder blended in just the right way) was moved to the biceps as well as the armour's upper back.

Given that Izuku already had his tranquillier pistol, he decided that having to split his ammo between a high-calibre hand cannon and a 9mm semi-automatic pistol was redundant so he tried to merge the best parts of the two guns. After a little bit of experimenting, he was able to create a high-firepower, semi-automatic, 12-round pistol that could serve both of its predecessor's purposes rather well (though he would admit it may not be as good as the handcannon in terms of raw strength.) Because of this, Izuku placed magazines underneath the thigh armour that would circle between different ammo types (two magazines of fire, ice and electric Dust ammo on his left thigh whilst there were two magazines of gravity and wind Dust as well as two magazines of EMP ammo on the right) for the new hybrid handgun.

Speaking of the armour, it was able to utilise Izuku's electricity via wires that connected to his fingers and toes. These wires would connect to various weapons and utilities (such as the flamethrower on the Blast Bracers or the mechanism which rotates the magazine on Izuku's thighs) which kept button-operated and switch-operated mechanisms to a minimum.

There were also some small additions Izuku's added to Dreamcatcher over its development. For one, Izuku implemented his research on a high-frequency blade and applied it to his suit in the form of retractable claws that extended a few centimetres from the boy's fingertips. The claws had a single purpose: cut through impenetrable defences as well as counter strong Aura at close range where his SDS (Shield Disrupting Sniper) might take too long to use. The only drawback was that the claws took so much electricity to power that the longest he could keep it up for was slightly over two minutes before he emptied his electrical stores.

The detachable helmet was likely the most important and most developed part of the suit. It was where all of his intel-based technology was located. The helmet was made of three parts: the black-coloured plating around his jaw, which contained his communication kit (microphone, scroll etc) and air filters; a green-plated section, which contained the technology used for Izuku's vision; and a silver section which covered his forehead and the protrusions on his head that were akin to rabbit ears, both of which contained microphones for hearing as well as a few different sensors.

Izuku had a lot of fun with what he could do with his vision. Whilst he was originally going to just include a basic camera so that he could implement the profiling system, which was now renamed to the 'Observe, Research, Counter' protocol or ORC, the boy soon started adding in infrared vision, night vision and a zoom feature up to 15x. Izuku operated the cameras via electrical impulses which instantly changed the camera he was seeing through as well as using a separate electrical impulse to operate the zoom feature so that he could change the type of vision as well as the strength of the zoom dynamically to suit the situation.

Finally, there were the rabbit ear-like protrusions on his head. Whilst they included sensitive microphones to capture sound and process it into the suit's profiling system to match voices to faces, and thus to identities, they also included various mechanisms which can sense items around him. This meant that even if Dreamcatcher's cameras were compromised or damaged, he wouldn't be completely helpless. Also, there were sensors which detect electromagnetic waves and signals from cameras, drones and other gadgets around him so the boy can disable them via an EMP bullet or grenade should the situation call for it.

In short, Project Dreamcatcher was Izuku's pride and joy with most of his time at I-Island being dedicated to improving it in some way. This meant that any inventions he made were first used for Dreamcatcher before the thought of selling them came to Izuku's mind. Of course, that meant that some of the 'new' tech he made had already been improved by himself and placed in the armour.

"But," Izuku started as he pointed at the helmet, "This helmet is shaped differently; it goes completely down to my collarbone whilst the new product only goes to the chin. Also, Dreamcatcher's helmet muffles sound and includes a microphone whilst the new glasses don't."

"Yeah, I get it Izuku. It wasn't criticism," Melissa said with a small smile, "You're the designer and you can sell whatever you want. Hell, the fact that you're even selling any tech from Dreamcatcher is surprising given how much effort you've put into designing all of the equipment. I will admit that I'm impressed you were able to include all of those features into the smart glasses given how small they are.

"Thanks, Melissa," Izuku sighed slowly, nerves calming down slightly, "Were you trying to distract me from the Expo?"

The blonde smiled coyly, "I mean, I tried. Did it work?"

"Kind of," Izuku scratched his chin sheepishly, "But it did make me wonder if this was a mistake and I shouldn't sell anything."

"Hey," the girl's smile widened, "You're making me feel guilty! At least it worked, right?"

The two laughed slightly before Izuku checked the clock which read 6:25. There was a long time left before the boy needed to go down so he decided that he could probably watch something on his computer. After placing the armour back into its capsule, Izuku slid into his chair and booted the computer.

After the boy got a few minutes into an episode of a superhero show he'd recently begun watching, he heard the low sound of a notification from his scroll. Thinking nothing of it, Izuku turned back to the monitor only to feel a light tapping on his shoulder. Without a word, he turned around and looked behind him, where a scroll was being held in front of him. With a little confusion, Izuku read the message on the screen before paling; it was I-Island's red alert protocol.

Izuku waited a few seconds, looking at the screen in confusion before turning back to the monitor and waiting for the alert to appear. Those tense-filled seconds proved true as the monitor screen turned red and a female voice spoke out in a monotonous tone.

"This is an announcement by the I-Island security system. We have received a report that a high-yield explosive device was located on I-Island. I-Island is now going into its high alert mode. Residents and tourists should return to their homes or lodging. Anyone found outside after ten minutes will be violating I-Island's law. As well as this, most of the main buildings such as I-Island Academy will be sealed off," the alert called out before repeating the message.

"Melissa… Why is there a lockdown? Didn't you say bomb threats outside of the main campus are only an orange alert?" Izuku asked, confused as much he was worried, "That would mean the system is going against standard protocol."

"Yeah… That's how it should go. I would say this is a bug but someone has to manually activate the high alert mode and send the alert around," Melissa said before she remembered something important, "I-I'm sure the standard bomb message had a completely different script which only encouraged everyone to stay at home instead of penalising those outside."

"So this was made after. Wouldn't there be a drill for this as soon as the change is made?" the inventor asked, "If you don't remember the drill then when was it made?"

Nodding slowly, the girl ran her thoughts through her head and came to a single conclusion, "This was made recently. There's someone behind this and they had some kind of motive. What is that motive?"

"I-Island is completely packed because of the I-Expo so is this a setup for some kind of massacre? With the buildings on lockdown, there's not a way in or out of the I-Expo unless the lockdown is lifted. But that would be too simple. No, with all of this effort, there's something more than someone who wants some bloodshed," Izuku slapped his forehead in disappointment, "Damn it, why didn't I think of that in the first place? The only reason to strike here and now on the I-Expo is because of the tech. Assuming-that-every-member-who-was-meant-to-show-has-there's-a-lot-of-new-tech-which-hasn't-been-revealed-to-the-public-yet. Since-a-good-portion-of-this-year's-tech-is-either-a-weapon-or-some-kind-of-armour-or-accessory-a-thief-would-have-unique-tech-which-can-be-reverse-engineered-and-sold-for-a-huge-profit."

"What did you say?"

"They're after the inventions. With a lockdown, there's no way for law enforcement to stop them from taking everything," Izuku said before scratching the back of his head, "But that can't be possible, the building would be surrounded as soon as the plot was found out… which is why they would have sent a false bomb threat. Any huntsmen and police officers outside would be looking for a bomb that doesn't exist. If they check everywhere on the island it could take hours, which is more than long enough for the entire heist to take place," Izuku said with slight trepidation, "But what about the huntsmen already in the expo? That's located inside the building so the attackers surely wouldn't trap themselves with the huntsman in the building."

"I-Izuku, remember the security additions that were added around a year ago? One of those was the same as the full-body restraining devices found in Tartarus prison, the ones they use for the containment of the highest-tier criminals. They're near-impossible to escape given that they're designed to burn through the Aura of those captured by it. That'd easily restrain any huntsmen there," the blonde's tone was filled with trepidation, "From what I remember, it's also strong enough to hold around half of All Might's power without difficulty. The only people that can do something against an intruder is anyone who wasn't in the main convention."

"Are they electricity-operated?" Izuku asked, his EMP ammo and grenades could counter them if so.

"Yes. From what I remember of the blueprints they use the mains to target a hostile and shoot towards them before using a signal from the building via a chipset and battery to keep hostiles restrained," the blonde stretched her arms slowly, "Though, there are enough that, if all of them were used, you might not have enough to disable them all."

"I don't need to disable all of them. Just the one on All Might; he should be able to eliminate the threat without breaking a sweat," Izuku said with a hint of confidence, "The grenades have a radius of 5m in all directions and the bullets have a radius of 50cm. I have ten grenades readily available and four 12-round magazines in the room right now. D'ya know how many there are?"

"From what I remember, there were around 60 of them though more may have been added," the blonde did a quick count-up, "You have 58 devices but the grenades should hit more than one person. There's also the issue when it comes to the security bots."

"Security bots? Shouldn't they protect the… Oh, for God's sake," Izuku cursed, "The bots are likely to be under their control since they issued the high-alert mode. If the enemy also has control over the cameras, I may need to shoot them down as well. The best uses might be to use either the bullets or the grenades to disable All Might's restrictions depending on his proximity to other huntsmen and then focus grenades on bots and ammo on cameras."

"If they can see through the cameras, do you think it'd be a better idea to leave as many cameras working? If cameras start spontaneously losing signal, it'll be suspicious. Also, once we get to the control room, I can operate them and we can flush out the rest of the intruders. " Melissa asked, "That is if you want me to come with you."

"Of course I-" Izuku was interrupted by a knock on the door.

The sudden noise shocked the two and sent their brains into overdrive. With the potential threat of an intruder being there, Izuku briskly walked over to his main armoury and pulled his handgun out. After a quick check of his magazine, he noticed he had a full mag of gravity Dust bullets from his attempts to control the hard recoil. It would do good enough.

The inventor handed the girl one of his other pistols, a standard 9mm that he originally used for experimental ammo, before calling out with a slightly worried tone, "Who's at the door? Didn't you hear the alert?"

"That's what we're here to check. We're making sure that you're in your room," the voice called out, light and warm, "Would you mind opening the door so I can account for any extras in the room?"

Izuku breathed slowly, "Melissa Shield is also in the room with me."

"Ah, Ms Shield isn't outside, that's good," the man said happily, almost triumphantly, "Though I'll need to escort her to the room. As is the procedure, after all."

Izuku glanced at Melissa who shook her head, this wasn't procedure, "Of course. Just a moment."

The boy confidently slid his hand over to another handgun, a tranquiliser pistol, and ensured it had something left in the magazine. This would be the first use of his new sedative formula and he couldn't say he wasn't excited. Gingerly, the boy stepped in front of the door to his room and gave a final look at the girl.

Melissa gripped the weapon Izuku'd given her. Although she was by no means an expert, she'd spent some time messing with guns when hanging out with him. She mouthed the word 'Ready?' as if to encourage Izuku to open the door.

With slight apprehension, he did.

There was an unsurprised look on the student's face as he saw a masked man in a black combat jacket and trousers, an outfit that was completely different to the usual semi-formal clothes under a lab coat that was common on I-Island. With a glance at the person's hands, Izuku saw a silver handgun in the man's right hand, not like the one issued to I-Island's security. It appeared peace was never an option.

Izuku took a few steps forwards before raising the amount of Dust running through his veins. 5% of electric Dust should be enough for this encounter. With a rush of speed, the boy slid to the ground and hooked his leg behind one of the masked man's and pushed forwards. As soon as the man started falling, the boy drew the handgun and released two bullets into the man's torso before pulling the gun up slightly to get a round into the head.

With a glance to the left, Izuku noticed that there were four more men in the corridor, all close by and all armed. With quick precision, Izuku elbowed the man in the head at full speed hoping for a concussion. With the person still in his arms, the boy somersaulted with the body to avoid some bullets and removed the man's gun from the holster.

In that time, the grunts that were down the corridor had noticed him and started firing. Knowing he had no armour on him, Izuku lifted the man in his arms and threw him towards the other men, letting their body sponge some of the bullets and their Aura break from said bullets.

With a quick manoeuvre, the boy holstered his personal handgun to preserve his ammo and aimed down the sights of the one he'd just taken. Firing twice towards the second furthest opponent, he then released a strong current towards the closest to stun them. This allowed him to follow up with a hard kick into the closest man's side. Following this attack, Izuku used his pistol to fire a short burst of four bullets into the man's head, breaking the Aura that was left.

Izuku charged up his Dust, pushing it to his limits, before waving his hand towards the other enemies and releasing a strong discharge of electricity which shocked everything and anything in its way. This was followed by a concentrated current of electricity on the three men that were left which burned a large chunk of their Aura, even completely shattering one person's Aura.

The boy's adrenaline-filled offence was stopped by a hard right swing from a single masked intruder. Izuku slid underneath the arm and dragged it back to sweep the taller person off their feet. This plan was disrupted by the man's footwork which caused Izuku to be thrown to the ground hard.

This was followed by a hard kick to Izuku's side which the inventor knew would be followed up by a gunshot that he couldn't protect himself from. With the speed boost from his Dust infusion, the inventor rolled back onto his feet and slammed an electricity-filled punch into the man's head. Without hesitation, Izuku used the few rounds he had left in the stolen pistol and emptied the magazine in less than two seconds.

The assailant, realising where his opponent was, slammed the butt of his pistol into Izuku's neck to give himself time to get his aim steady. However, he underestimated the boy's resilience and the younger fighter recovered from the attack quicker than expected. Ruthlessly, Izuku slammed the masked man's head straight into a wall.

Izuku threw the pistol he'd taken during the fight towards the only other assailant, stunning them and knocking them onto the ground before turning his attention to the person next to him, who was likely suffering from a concussion. A single Dust round was all it took for their shield to break and leave them crumpled on the floor.

Gracefully, Izuku pivoted on his right leg back to the remaining fighter, who'd only just gotten up. The boy drew his tranquiliser pistol from its holster and was able to get a dart to slip through the man's skin and release its contents into the bloodstream. Thirty seconds was as long as this fight would last, Izuku counted down in his head. With practised ease, the boy slipped his tranquiliser back into his pocket and reached for one of the silver pistols that the intruders had dropped.

After seeing the situation, the final goon decided to start using his semblance and the following bullets phased through their body with only a slight trace of steam and holes in the clothes as proof of a hit. The inventor raised his right-hand's index finger from the gun grip and released a focused stream of sparks into the man's body, checking if the steam that was released was linked to a weakness to electricity.

The attack seemed to be effective as the assailant stopped in place with a cry of pain, stunned and stuck to the spot. Five… Four… Three… Two… One... The masked man fell to the floor with a hard thud. All enemies had been neutralised.

"Wow, I need to thank Mr Reeves for all of that gun training," the boy said to himself, impressed by how far he'd developed his combat abilities during his years at I-Island, "And it appears my sedative is a success if this fight is any indication."

With a roll of his shoulders, Izuku loosened up his joints and lowered the active Dust in his blood to zero. Turning around, he saw that some of the intruders were still conscious, if only by the skin of their teeth, so the boy quickly threw a hard punch to the back of their head to make sure he didn't leave any threats unchecked. He could keep the spare tranquiliser darts for the next firefights.

"I'm done, Melissa!" Izuku called out as he stepped into his room, "Now that that's done, we need to find out our plan of action. There's no way we can just stay here and sit it out."

"The main hall of the expo is on the fifth floor but the glass dome above it reaches the eighth and we're currently on the thirtieth," Melissa thought aloud, "Given that there's a hard barrier every 25 floors, we'll either need to use one of your EMP grenades to disable the alarm system to break through undetected or we'll need to create a hole through the floor and avoid an alarm."

"I have more than enough EMP grenades to open a single door. And, even if we didn't, busting through the floor would likely attract more attention than setting an alarm off." Izuku said with a grin, "From the eighth floor, I can use my sniper to pick off some people and create a hole which I can toss an EMP through. After All Might is freed, there is no way we can lose."

Mellissa nodded before looking at her shoes and blushing slightly, "H-Hey, Izuku. Do you mind if I swap shoes quickly?"

Izuku was about to question her before realising that she was wearing high heels and would likely be too loud to sneak around. He nodded whilst watching her briskly walk out of the room to change her footwear. Using the minutes he'd been given, the boy removed his footwear and socks and quickly walked towards Dreamcatcher. With a flash of electricity from his fingertips, Izuku activated the security system on the armour and used the retinal scanner to unlock the suit.

Dreamcatcher split out from the middle with all of the plates moving out of the way so that the boy could slip in with ease. He did so before reactivating the locking mechanism which Izuku ensured wouldn't compromise his efforts to make the suit waterproof. As soon he slipped in, he felt a slight tap on all of his fingers and toes showing that the conductive pads had locked onto his fingers so that any electricity released from his finger pads would be tied to some sort of function.

The boy raised his active Dust to 5% which was more than enough to operate the suit as well as give him a substantial boost to his agility and reaction speed. His eyes were treated to the sight of the overhead display which displayed the amount of ammo in his leg magazines, the amount of nitroglycerin he had (96% due to brief use a few days ago) and the like.

Spinning around, Izuku looked towards the shelf which held his arsenal of weaponry including an electromagnetic shotgun which could shoot slugs faster than almost any shotgun found commercially, the high-frequency tanto that was used to develop the technology which would later be applied to the suit's claws as well as a variety of grenades and magazines which contained anything from Dust rounds, tranq darts, EMP rounds, sniper rounds or the shellshock rounds, which were differentiated by the small marking on the side of the magazine casing. He filled his tranq darts spots and slid them into their pockets before filling any spots on Dreamcatcher with the magazine it was meant to hold.

Through a quick check of ejecting magazines from the thigh mag wheel, Izuku made sure that each was full before slotting them back into place. Now fully geared up, the inventor looked around his room for any snacks that he had laying around; he hadn't eaten since 2 pm and it would be a bad idea to fight on an empty stomach, or so his mother said.

Speaking of which, he had to wonder where his mother was. He remembered her saying that she would go shopping for an hour or so ago so he hoped that she was safe. Given that the alert went off whilst she was outside, she'd likely be in a hotel or one of the designated shelters.

The boy shook his head before focusing on his search for a snack. It appeared in the form of a chocolate bar and a small packet of nuts and dried fruit. Placing the tip of his finger on the top part of his neck and releasing a small jolt of electricity, the boy was able to open the locking mechanisms and took the helmet off. Using his claws, the boy cut through the thin packaging of the chocolate bar and took a bite, enjoying the sweet, goopy mess.

It was one of the drawbacks of having a power directly tied to cardiovascular health; he wasn't exactly able to eat many of the snacks he used to enjoy to avoid clogging arteries. Whilst chocolate may have slight, potential benefits for the heart, Izuku only indulged in it occasionally. The nuts, which he now started to eat, also had benefits for his heart but they were benefits that were more agreed upon.

The other problem was the intense amounts of cardio he had to do each day to ensure both his body and Dust abilities were in peak shape. As much as Izuku didn't mind it, there were some days where he wished he could lay in bed forever. Then again, what was power without some kind of sacrifice to attain it? Actually, Aura-didn't-exactly-need-a-sacrifice-so-

"Izuku!" Melissa asked, standing in front of the door in a pair of running shoes, "We don't have time to waste. Quickly eat that so we can start moving!"

Izuku stopped his mumbling and quickly ate his snack. After a quick sip from a water bottle on his desk, the boy reattached his helmet to the rest of Dreamcatcher's armour and locked it in place with an electrical current. Pushing both types of Dust in his veins to 5%, Izuku activated the ORC protocol on the helmet and walked towards the stairs.

"Alright, Melissa," Izuku asked as they quietly walked through the corridors, "Do you still have that gun on you?"

"Yeah. Why?" she replied quietly.

"Might be useful for some suppressive fire. I also don't want you to be caught without some way to defend yourself," Izuku said slowly before reaching the door to the staircase.

He heightened the sensitivity of the sensors to allow him to hear any footsteps. He could hear faint thuds to his right but that was far enough back that Izuku didn't mind ignoring them. After all, once the heroes were free, they'd be eliminated. The boy checked his tranquiliser gun and ensured a dart was chambered, ready for an instinctive pull of the trigger to send it into its target's body.

Given that the stairs went down in a clockwise direction, the boy had to peek around each corner to ensure he wasn't caught off-guard. There was a simple method that the two used to manoeuvre down the stairs safely: Izuku sneaks to the corner and peeks around the walls and down the stairs to check it was clear and Melissa follows whilst ensuring no one came from behind. With that method, they were able to get down four floors before they faced a heavy metal barrier.

With a nod backwards, Izuku motioned for the blonde to move away from the barrier so he could use his EMP grenade without risking the girl's scroll. Now, with a clear area, he twisted the top of the device clockwise to start the countdown before placing the grey, spherical container next to the barrier. After the five-second countdown had ended, the EMP grenade terminated the alarm's connection to the door in a bright flash of light. The inventor smiled as his suit was still operational; that meant the carbon-based Faraday cage he'd built around the chipsets and wires had protected the circuitry, which was something he hadn't tested outside of controlled experiments.

Izuku placed a palm on the metal barrier before releasing a spontaneous blast and opening a hole into the metal. He dove in with the tranquilliser pistol out, shooting a single assailant in the back of the head before quickly using Black Whip to disarm the man and trip him to the ground. With a quick zap, the boy stunned the man in place before he took a quick second to look down the door to the rest of the floor.

"Clear," he whispered loudly so that only Melissa would hear him. The light footsteps that he heard with his sensors told him that the girl was following him. His sedative finally took effect and a heavier thud followed soon after, that of the masked person's head hitting the ground.

Melissa walked down the stairs, careful to not let any sharp metal pieces cut her. Noticing something, she ran her hand into the man's holster before pulling out a handgun. From a movement she'd seen Izuku practice to death, she removed the ammo from the gun before sliding it into one of the few pockets the dress had. Given it wasn't one of the deepest pockets, it hung out slightly and a single bullet fell down the stairs because of it.

Lightly, the metallic noise rang through the stairwell and Izuku heard some steps coming from down the stairs. Not knowing whether the intruder's Aura could protect them from the dart, Izuku lightly placed his left hand on his other handgun before peeking around the corner. Another assailant, though this one being female and wielding a pump-action shotgun, was climbing up the stairs and aimed the gun up towards him.

The buckshot hit the armour with a light thud, having done no damage to the hardened exterior of the armour. Izuku fired the dart directly below the mask and into the woman's neck before holstering his tranquiliser and drawing his pistol. As he pulled the gun up, the inventor fired two rounds into the woman's torso before leaping towards the woman with a palm outstretched, detonating a blast directly into the woman's face. The woman was thrown into the wall behind her, with her Aura shattered and her firearm seemingly useless. Having been barely on the edge of fainting, the sedative eased her into sleep.

The armoured boy quickly moved down the stairs, listening closely to everything around him. He heard the slow, methodical footsteps of three people on the other side of the door to the rest of the floor and charged an explosion for two seconds. Steadying his breathing to remain undetected, Izuku waited for the people to open the door. A click was heard as the door opened.

The green-haired boy stepped around the door in less than a second and unleashed the blast. One masked thief was thrown far back by the force, although their Aura was still intact and kept them in the fight. That was no problem for Izuku given that he had two human-shaped objects to use as projectiles. With another step that took him through the door frame, Izuku used Black Whip to pull at the ankles of both of the intruders to his right. A quick motion led to them being slammed into the ceiling before being shocked with electricity and slammed into the person Izuku had initially attacked.

Although all three had landed in a heap, none of them had broken their Aura. The inventor took a second to calculate whether using his sedative, gravity Dust rounds or the Blast Bracers would be the least costly takedown. Izuku slapped himself when he realised the simplest solution. Three thick wires slammed hard into each man's head at Mach 5, relatively slow when compared to its max speed. It was hard to deny that the sound of their Aura shattering was music to Izuku's ears.

A quick look down both sides of the corridor told him that the area was clear. With another whisper, Izuku called Melissa down to follow him down to the 22nd floor. The two moved with caution down the stairs; Izuku was constantly listening out for anything that could foretell an ambush or the enemy's location and Melissa ensured her footsteps were as light as possible. With a cautious pace, they were able to reach the twelfth floor with only one opponent, who Izuku disposed of with a quick tranquiliser dart.

With only four floors left between the duo and the eighth floor from which they'd leave the stairwell, Izuku did a quick reload of his weapons to ensure that he wouldn't be caught off guard. Melissa waited patiently for him as they stood in the middle of the stairs. She was about to talk before Izuku raised a finger to his lips. He detected a voice below.

"Damn, are you sure they sent someone to check those blasts upstairs?" one asked, a young boyish voice, with mild anxiety, "We could barely hear it but that doesn't mean we're completely safe."

"They sent one of the people on floor 24 to check it out. They'll probably come down the stairs in a few minutes though," the other jabbed lightly, "Don't tell me you're scared of a couple of sounds."

Izuku stopped caring about what they were saying at this point, only focusing on whether there was any sound period. He waved forwards slowly, estimating which floor the two men were on. If Izuku and Melissa were on the twelfth floor and the men seemed that distant, he assumed they were on the eighth floor or below.

The boy slipped around the corner and continued to peek down the stairs. As he gently sneaked down the steps as quietly as he could, Izuku couldn't help but take glances behind him to ensure that Melissa didn't stray too far from him. Like always, she followed him, trusting his intuition to keep them safe.

As he touched down on the tenth floor, the boy focused on everything around him, knowing that danger was unavoidable. After turning the sensitivity of the noise sensors up, Izuku heard three sets of footsteps coming up the stairs below them. From the volume, Izuku estimated that the trio were only two floors below them and moving up. Aware that someone would be coming up sooner or later, the inventor poked Melissa before pointing at the door closest to him.

She nodded as she opened the door as quietly as possible before hiding behind the door. Given her proximity to the people below them, she was able to hear the clacks of shoes hitting the stairs. Whilst the girl wouldn't be able to fight herself, she could still ensure she wasn't a liability.

Also listening to the footsteps, Izuku crouched on the stairs which went from the tenth floor to the eleventh and readied a smoke grenade. As soon as the boy thought his opponents were on the last flight of stairs to him, he started the five-second countdown and rolled it down the stairs. Izuku heard the startled noise of the intruders upon seeing the canister but hoped that they wouldn't break it before it would release the smokescreen. Three… Two… One…

A bang followed up by a slow hiss told Izuku that it was time to act. Rolling out of cover, the boy used the infrared camera to see through the smoke and line up his shots. In quick succession, the boy fired a single dart into each assailant and leapt down the stairs to follow up the darts by quickly throwing someone into a wall and using the pistol in their hand to shoot four rounds each into the other two.

Noticing that the handgun was empty of ammo, he used electric Dust to zap the metal magazine and throw it into the chest of another masked man. The force at which Izuku threw the firearm had winded his target, enough to distract them for a few seconds. Knowing that he should first finish off the person who's pistol he just used, Izuku did a quick twist and pull to dislocate the shoulder and threw the body to the ground before a stomp to the stomach left the man on the ground.

With the last few seconds of the smokescreen still in effect, the armoured boy inserted a claw into the side of both men's necks and released a strong current into their bodies. After that, Izuku snaked an arm around one masked man's neck before throwing them into the other. With the two criminals in perfect position, Izuku used Black Whip to throw them down the stairs and into the wall below.

With a finger pointed at each person, Izuku released a quick current to hold them down until the sedative worked its magic and knocked them out. After a brief check with the sensors, Izuku checked for footsteps only to hear subtle thuds several floors down and much further than the inventor needed to go.

With the coast clear, he returned to the door and whispered, "Fight's over, Mel. We need to rush to the eighth floor now."

The door opened and the blonde quickly came out to follow him on the way down. He couldn't help but feel a little pitiful for the grunts he'd hurt but they did choose to attack I-Island. If they hadn't expected the resistance, they were fools, simple as that. He tossed that pity to the side and walked past the unconscious bodies; they didn't have much time until the person on the lower floors would reach them. They passed the ninth floor swiftly and before they knew it, they were on the eighth floor.

As soon as they stepped past the door and stood on the eighth floor, the two let out a huge sigh of relief. The only thing to do was to free All Might; this night would be over before they knew it. After checking his sensors one more time, he found that the floor was clear. He checked once more only to get similar results. How could anyone leave an entrance to the main operation unprotected?

The boy was apprehensive but, with no more intel available, he decided to continue with his plan and get to the glass ceiling where they would make their entrance. With little time to lose, the two jogged through the winding corridors and breezed past the numerous doors to arrive at a large, circular observation room made to look down into the event hall through a large glass circle that revealed the stage below.

A quick sweep around the observation area told Izuku that the entire floor was completely devoid of life for some odd reason. It was unnerving but maybe the organisation was inexperienced in this sort of thing… Or maybe they really were fools. Izuku chose to keep those thoughts to himself and decided to inspect the stage of the event hall.

First of all, he noticed the stage was mostly empty except for five people, the most important being All Might. The titan of a man was on the ground, restrained in what appeared to be a beam of light that Izuku wasn't sure he'd be able to hit accurately with an EMP bullet. That meant he'd either have to use an EMP grenade or get closer to have a better shot. Secondly, there was a trio of armed, masked intruders behind a similarly armed, red-haired man in a large white coat and grey combat gear similar to what the rest of the intruders were wearing. Moving around the room, Izuku was able to get a better look at the man's face, or more specifically, the metal mask the man was wearing.

The boy huffed. He hadn't been able to use the ORC protocol effectively due to everyone wearing a mask and thus preventing him from learning their weaknesses. Izuku channelled his slight frustration into effort towards the battle plan. The red-haired man was clearly the leader; if the extra equipment and the imposing mask wasn't enough, the bodyguards were. Zooming in via the helmet, the inventor looked for anything that he'd need to take into account when breaking in. The extra look proved fruitful when he saw a small remote and a red button.

That remote made Izuku somewhat apprehensive; it could activate anything from an actual bomb (if they had one) to some sort of drone override (if it hadn't been done already.) The armoured inventor had to deal with that first so he had to make a quick plan. First, he would use the SDS to eliminate the boss as soon as possible. Then, if the bullet created large enough of an opening, he could throw the EMP grenade through the opening and free All Might before going down there himself to aid in the fight, although he doubted All Might needed it. However, if he jumped down, would Melissa be safe?

"Hey, Mel. You've used my sniper before right?" he asked quickly, trying to hold himself from rushing in.

"Once or twice. Do you want me to provide suppressive fire?"

"Potentially. I've only got the five aura-shattering rounds in the magazine and ten rounds for both fire Dust rounds and gravity Dust but I'd recommend using the fire rounds first since they have the least recoil. I'll likely be jumping down after the grenade so SDS won't be as effective for me. Therefore, I thought it'd make sense if you use it to keep yourself safe up here," Izuku explained hastily, waiting for a response.

"Sure. I've got your back," the girl responded, giving Izuku the go-ahead.

The boy dropped two magazines of fire Dust sniper rounds onto the ground in front of Melissa before changing the magazine of his handgun to an ice magazine, mainly because he thought that trapping as many enemies as possible with the ice ammo would be the most helpful thing he could do for All Might. Fully prepared, the boy took aim with his sniper and moved his crosshairs onto the leader of the group; if the man was the leader, it was likely he was either the most powerful or someone that kept everyone in sync through commands and orders. Either way, eliminating him first would give Izuku the largest starting advantage in the situation. After a look down to let him know which pocket the EMP grenade was in, Izuku gave himself a mental countdown before he began the fight.

He held his breath, letting his heartbeat slow and his breath stabilise… Three… Two… One. The loud blast of the firearm was followed by the hum of energy charging, cracks of lightning and two shattering noises; that of the glass that the bullet penetrated and the Aura of his target. Wasting no time, Izuku grabbed the EMP grenade and threw it through the hole, using the extra force it was thrown at to push past broken glass. As he said he would do, the boy dropped the weapon and vaulted over the balcony and crashed through the glass.

He landed on top of the red-haired man with all of his weight, pinning the man down whilst also taking great care to ensure that the button wasn't pressed underneath the man. Once down there, the boy grabbed the remote and slid it towards All Might and the EMP grenade to ensure that it was safe and wouldn't be activated afterwards. After that was taken care of, Izuku took a second to look at the three men on the stage, all of which were wielding high-grade assault rifles.

The boy slid one tendril from Black Whip around the leader's torso and slammed him into one of the men on the stage before sprinting forward and following up with a one-second blast directly to the rifle-user along with a speedy punch to the skull to keep them down a little longer. Izuku pulled his handgun out from its holster and fired it at one of the others on the stage, using two rounds to damage the man's aura before using the electric Dust's speed enhancements to slip behind the man and wrap Black Whip around their arm to dislocate it with a pull of the wire. The armoured teen was able to capitalise on the burst of pain that rushed through his opponent's senses and sweeped their legs to throw them onto the ground so that a flash of electricity could finish them off, signalled by the noise of shattered Aura.

The boy was able to quickly rush behind the final intruder on the stage and fire three consecutive blasts from his Blast Bracers directly into their back and throw them far forwards. The boy used a brief window of time he was given to survey the rest of the room. He counted twenty other intruders in the room, all of whom only seconds away from getting over their shock and attacking him. Knowing this, he used the ten bullets left in the magazine to trap ten different opponents' feet to the ground and changed his magazine to EMP rounds because if he counted correctly…

The five-second countdown finally ended and a shower of sparks flew across the stage as the EMP grenade wreaked havoc on any electronics in its area of effect. Izuku expected that the Symbol of Peace would take a second before he'd burst into action so the boy took the initiative to zap as many intruders as possible with his electric Dust to stun them for a few seconds. Before the boy could comprehend it, a blur of red, blue and white rushed across the room from villain to villain to punch them to oblivion. It was a show of power, of pure heroism, where the Symbol of Peace beat down every threat and took Izuku's breath away from the sheer epicness of the sight.

Izuku watched as one person was punched so hard that when they hit the wall, it cracked against the body. After that, he spotted the titan of a man creating a miniature tornado from his hand with just a flick of the wrist, sucking in a few men before the blonde rushed through and knocked them out with a hand chop to the neck. The boy couldn't tell whether he was amazed, terrified or both as the strong winds almost knocked him off of his feet and the sound of crashes filled his ears.

The Symbol of Peace continued his assault with ease, able to use his superior strength and speed to fight anyone who threatened the innocent. Even if the armed intruders, now realising that they needed to fight ASAP, had started using their weapons, the man was able to run through the bullets aimed at him and ignore them as they barely dented his Aura. With each person that fell to All Might's fist, another person dropped their weapon and tried to surrender themselves to the huntsman.

The blur of red and blue continued to decimate its foes through hard-hitting yet simple attacks. They were never more complex than a simple punch or kick with an occasional elbow thrown in at All Might's discretion. Of course, it didn't matter what the man did with the sheer power that he held, every attack hit with the weight of an airbus yet with the speed of a bullhead. At his peak, he could throw a punch and could destroy buildings with the air pressure that followed it so the strength to knock a person down with a single hit came easily to him.

In only five seconds, every masked intruder that Izuku had seen had been knocked out and eliminated and in six seconds, they were all rounded up together and placed in the corner of the room where they could be restrained quickly. The boy could only smile brightly as the giant man strode over to him with that empowering grin which surged the boy's confidence up to the surface.

"Young Midoriya, I'd recognise those wires of yours anywhere. I see you've grown quite a lot since our last meeting," the man placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Izuku nodded before quickly pointing upwards, "T-Thank you, All Might. Melissa and I were able to guess that there is likely another group of people in the top control room due to the unique warning. You should be able to disable the system there."

The huntsmen nodded before looking upwards at Melissa, "Young Midoriya, would you mind bringing her down? I should be able to rush to the top room so that Melissa can lift the lockdown."

With Black Whip's strength, Izuku easily pulled himself up to the eighth floor before gently lifting Melissa and lowering her down to one of the clearer areas on the fifth floor that wasn't covered in glass shards. As soon as both of them had their feet on the ground, the girl threw the heavy sniper and magazines to the boy, all of which were unused during the short encounter. It was better that way, in Izuku's opinion.

"Thank you, Young Midoriya. I'll be heading to the control room, now. Hopefully, by disabling the lockdown protocol, the restraining system should deactivate. I know that, if it doesn't, you'll free them. In the meantime, make sure that the civilians are fine. You need to make a good impression, a huntsman needs the trust of the people that they protect. I'll see you soon, Young Midoriya."

Izuku was pushed back slightly by the wind that All Might created when he ran. He was left awestruck for a second before he was able to regain his senses and take priority. With a quick survey around the room, the boy was able to look for anything that required his immediate attention. Thankfully, the only thing that concerned the boy was a table that had been knocked onto a young girl. With a wire, the boy lifted the table carefully and made sure that the girl was fine. She gave him a shy wave and quiet 'thank you' which made him slightly flustered but the helmet he wore kept that fact to himself.

With the civilians in a relatively safe state, Izuku activated the ORC protocol and walked over to the pile of men that sat in the corner of the room. With a quick survey, Izuku was able to find the red hair he was looking for and pulled the man out of the pile gently, ensuring that the man remained asleep. With a small movement, he removed the steel mask from the man's face and was able to get a clear visual of the man's face.

'Keith Silverstein' was the name that was matched to the face along with a small '97%' tag next to the name, stating how closely the faces match. That remaining 3% could be anything from some facial cream to a new spot or blemish on his face. Either way, it was a close match and a name that Izuku could use. Whilst the inventor let the 'research' segment of ORC run its course, he was able to slip the man's scroll out of his pocket.

From the initial research, the boy laughed ever so slightly. Keith, if that was his name, had semblance that gave him control of various steel alloys, some which were used in Dreamcatcher. Had the boy not started with the SDS, he would've been at a severe disadvantage that he wasn't sure he could overcome. He was also happy to see that SDS was able to disrupt L-rated Aura, a feat he likely couldn't have achieved before I-Island. That feeling saddened him slightly, he'd miss this place once he graduated.

'Research complete' pinged onto Dreamcatcher's HUD, allowing him to go through anything recorded about the man. His eyes scanned the results, using the extra perception that came from the Dust infusion to skim read through the text. There were some useless articles but Izuku was able to find something that clicked: ownership of a 'Villains for hire' company. Focusing on that aspect, the boy was able to see that the company was often used for mundane things like birthdays, movies and generally acting as villains.

Izuku, seeing enough from ORC, turned his attention to the scroll. Thankfully, the criminal had set the scroll to a facial-recognition-based unlock so the boy didn't have much to worry about that when it came to accessing the data. With access to the contacts and texts, the boy was able to look through the contacts and look for anything that had associations to I-Island. To his immense surprise, he spotted David Shield not too far down the list.

Izuku was, understandably, intrigued by the name; what business would a criminal have with the person he was targeting? Izuku opened the chat and swiped to the start of the chat, which started only a week before the I-Island Expo. The first red flag he saw was that Professor Shield had been the one to initiate the chat. He had booked a session on the day of the Expo… which meant this was all planned. The inventor wanted to rush up to the tower to tell All Might but he held himself back. He needed to see the bigger picture first.

The chat went back and forth with Professor Shield asking about the way Keith and his group went about with their acting. To his shock, Keith had promised he'd use rubber rounds. On his descent down the stairs, Izuku hadn't seen an intruder armed with any kind of non-lethal ammo let alone rubber bullets. The boy knew that they were all armed with live ammo because he'd used their own guns against them for a few of the fights. A final sweep through the texts let him know what the intruders had been tasked to do: stage the theft of a specified invention that was held inside a marked, silver suitcase located in the control room.

Izuku, having finished the chat, knew he needed to tell All Might what was occurring. The boy grabbed the closest gun, dropped by a grunt during All Might's fight, and removed the magazine, checking that it was live ammo. It was and that confirmed his assumption that the group had lied to Shield which meant that they had some sort of ulterior motive: likely to steal whatever item was in that briefcase for themselves. As much as the boy respected David, Izuku couldn't help but criticise the man's naivety.

He clutched the magazine in one hand and the scroll in the other before rushing out of the door and to the closest flight of stairs, likely the one that All Might had taken. The inventor increased the amount of electric Dust and energy Dust flowing through his body, pushing past his previous boundaries and accessing slightly more Dust. 10.25… 10.5… 11% of electric Dust was as far as he was able to push but it would be enough to speed up the stairs to the 200th floor. Bounding two steps at a time, the boy blitzed up the stairwell as fast as his body could carry.

The sprint was short but Izuku was able to see the aftershocks of All Might's strength: craters in the stairs when All Might pushed off too hard as well as copious amounts of broken and shattered metal from when the huntsman punched through the hard steel barriers that were placed every 25 floors. Amazed, Izuku rushed past what remained of the barriers and continued sprinting through the stairwell.

In a shower of sparks, Izuku rushed through what remained of the door to the control room after All Might had broken through it. As soon as he entered, he spotted Melissa along with three men: David Shield, a man he presumed was one of I-Island's higher-ups and All Might. They seemed to be in the middle of a conversation before Izuku entered the room if the sudden abrupt silence was any indication. The armoured inventor broke that silence by emptying the magazine in his hand and let the sound of metal hitting metal permeate the air.

Before anyone could voice their confusion, Izuku spoke, "Professor Shield, that isn't rubber ammo. You've been lied to, the people you hired were actual villains with live ammo. I don't know what you wanted them to steal but couldn't you have done a background check and tried to minimise how many people were harmed?"

The revelation came as a shock; All Might's face changed to something of surprise and shame whilst Melissa's face contorted into something of anger, surprise and disappointment. On his way up, Izuku hadn't thought of what he would have said so he blurted out the truth without any form of sugar-coating, something he was regretting now. As that fact was accepted by the people, there was only a simple thought going through Izuku's head: why would David Shield, one of the leaders of I-Island, need something to be smuggled out?

"Is that true, Dad?" Melissa's words pulled Izuku out of his thoughts, "You endangered everyone's lives so that they could steal items you own? So many people could've been hurt if Izuku hadn't been able to free All Might and put an end to whatever's going on today."

"T-They promised that they wouldn't hurt anybody," the man tried to justify his actions, "I-I didn't know that they would try anything like that. I'm so sorry."

"David… Why?" All Might could barely form the words in his mouth, "You've endangered everyone on the island for no reason."

"There was a reason, Toshi. Trust me when I say there was," David said slowly, "I can't say because…"

"Because of what?" All Might shouted, his tone held "You've betrayed my trust in you to keep the island safe. I'm sorry David but no details hidden!"

"It's your secret, Toshi. It's not my secret to reveal…" the man tried to explain.

"Just tell me, David. Please, just tell me why you've tried to reason with those people? What would have driven you to try and fake a heist? What was in the case?"

"It was an Aura amplifier. It would've amplified the strength of someone's Aura and prolong the length the Aura could be held for," the scientist explained with a solemn face, "Some vultures in Atlas's military sniffed it out and demanded that it be handed over to them or they'll take it by force. After my involvement with their little project, I thought they'd be kinder but no. You know how they are, always seconds away from starting another war. If they had the amplifier, they'll reverse-engineer it and recreate them for their army. They'd wage a war with an advantage so huge that I doubt the other kingdoms would be able to respond. I needed to get rid of it but I couldn't destroy it; it was meant to be used to save people.. not to start wars."

Izuku staggered back slightly. An amplifier… an amplifier could boost his pitiful Aura. Dreamcatcher, as great as it was, wasn't on the same level as Aura. It was able to bridge the gap between him and the strength of other huntsmen but it wasn't the same as biological Aura. He couldn't adapt as easily to situations that go wrong nor could he heal himself from mortal wounds like others. But semblances and Aura had their limits, they usually had strict and somewhat limited uses whilst Dreamcatcher had endless possibilities that came to Izuku's mind. That and Izuku's already fused with Dust, amplifying his Aura could break whatever balance there was between the Dust in his body and the Aura that would try to fight it off.

"David… Who was it for?" All Might said. Even if he knew the answer, he didn't want to accept it.

"It was for you, Toshi. It's becoming increasingly obvious that you're losing your ability to sustain your Aura. People have been theorising for years about the slow decline in your Huntsman activity. Toshi… People are finding out you're losing your strength. And, when more people become aware of that fact, when both villains and civilians find out about that, the Symbol of Peace will be destroyed. Crime rates will rise and the people will lose their trust in you. Those negative emotions that were being suppressed by you, the unbeatable hero and Symbol of Peace, will be released and we'll be left with more Grimm. Toshi, this wasn't something I did for shits and giggles. I had a reason…"

Izuku looked at All Might in shock. He knew that the man only worked for three hours nowadays but had he really become weaker? Izuku only assumed that the man was holding back because a lot of the work he did was often close to civilians that would be hurt if the huntsman used his full strength. But maybe it was the fact that such immeasurable power couldn't all be accounted for, the man might have been so unthinkably powerful that the public hadn't noticed he was losing his strength. If it was the case that All Might was going to become weaker and weaker, David was right in his predictions with his intentions being pure and his reasoning logical.

"David… I'm sorry but I can't accept this. That kind of item would be too dangerous; if it ended up in the wrong hands then it could give birth to a threat so large that we'd be unable to face it. I know how much effort you've put into this but I can't, in good faith, take it. There comes a time when the old must burn down so that the new can rise from the ashes. I won't be alive forever, David. When I do die, I don't want such an item being stolen or taken. I must refuse."

"I understand that Toshi, I do. But are you sure you can't take it? It was made for you specifically." David asked before sighing when All Might shook his head, "I can't force you. I'll have to destroy it before Atlas can get their hands on it. This is a one-time opportunity, Toshi. I hope, for my sake and yours, that you don't regret this. Sam, would you- what are you doing?"

Izuku turned around to look at an old, blonde man who stood in the corner of the room with a small, spider-looking headset attached to his face. Before Izuku knew it, sparks of lightning flew from the tips of the headset and the man's closed eyes opened wide with a deep purple glow. An oppressive aura permeated the air, weighing down on the occupants of the room. The Aura amplifier was activated.

"Samuel, what are you doing? The plan failed, put it down before you hurt yourself!" David said loudly, barely able to push the words out of his mouth.

"David. I won't let our work be wasted. You almost destroyed our device once when Atlas caught wind of it. I was able to talk it out with you last time but I doubt I can right now. You were a good partner but you almost threw away our hard work. Our blood, sweat and tears would be thrown away like garbage because you couldn't stand up for yourself and your work," the old man said, now energetic and ready for battle, "Such a marvellous device can't be thrown to waste. I won't let it."

Samuel's shadow seemed to grow before materialising behind him, oozing with newfound power and strength. What had once been a semblance that could control the user's shadow was transformed into one that could materialise shadows into the third dimension. And, from how much power the shadow was emanating, the semblance was now able to imbue power into the materialised shadows. The device did its job and it did it well.

"David… What have you made?" All Might said with slight apprehension, it seemed that he was fatigued from the long day.

"Sam! Sam! Stop this before someone gets hurt!" David said before he was thrown to the floor by the shadow.

Izuku looked at the device again, giving it a hard look, before focusing on the sparks. It was an electrical device and Izuku still had most of his EMP grenades and bullets since he hadn't freed any heroes except for All Might. The boy surreptitiously threw the scroll in his hand behind him before placing a hand on the EMP grenade and another on his handgun. He spent a second to glance at All Might and see if the man would make a move. It didn't appear he would due to the strained, thinking face he was making so Izuku took the initiative.

With a twist of the wrist, the boy activated the EMP grenade and held it in its pocket for three seconds. With two seconds of the countdown left, Izuku threw the device directly in the man's chest with it activating a moment after contact. The inventor raised his handgun and fired an EMP round, which had already been chambered, into a part of the device that he could see before switching the magazine to one with gravity Dust.

Samuel remained smug before he felt the strength of his Aura decrease and the amplifier be destroyed in front of him. There was no way… How had the device failed him? The manifested shadow behind him disappeared into black smoke and fell to the ground, reverting into a normal shadow. The would-be criminal looked ahead to All Might and the armoured boy next to him with his hands up. He was neither a fool nor a fighter so the only thing he would do was surrender.

Izuku looked at the senior inventor, "You didn't protect it from EMP bursts? Wouldn't that be an easy weakness for criminals to exploit?"

"It was still a prototype, Izuku. It wasn't finished but I needed to get rid of it before Atlas tried to take it from us and finish it themselves," David got up and brushed himself down, "And, thank you, Izuku. I don't know if the amplifier could've made Samuel on par with All Might. Hopefully, we won't need to find out."

"I hope you gentlemen don't mind my interruption," a grandfatherly voice called from behind the door, "I was sent from outside to investigate the matter as soon as the lockdown was raised."

With a quick look at where the controls were, Izuku saw Melissa standing next to the controls with a smirk. It seemed that whilst Sam had gloated about his powers and focused on a fight, he had neglected to look at the controls. Izuku flashed a smile at the girl before realising that he still had his helmet on and took it off. Whilst he was taking the helmet off, he felt someone tap his shoulder for his attention.

The boy turned around to be met with a slightly wrinkled but imposing face framed with snow-white hair, "P-Professor Ozpin!"

The man, who was wearing his signature unbuttoned black suit and buttoned dark green shirt, smiled at him, "Aren't you a little young to be saving an entire island? Well, it's best to start early, no? I hope you're planning to apply for Beacon, young man. Your involvement tonight should easily get you on the shortlist."

The boy's brain seemed to shut down. A way for him to get to Beacon, the greatest huntsman school on Remnant, was directly in front of him, given by the legendary headmaster of said huntsman school. It all felt so unreal that all he could muster was a shy nod.

"He's an impressive candidate, Ozpin. I can assure you that!" All Might said before coughing slightly, wiping some of the spittle that came out with the back of his hand. If Izuku hadn't been close to fainting from sheer delight, he would've noticed that some of the spittle was a rich blood red.

"Good to see you, Toshinori. I should be able to bring in the police and arrest these intruders," the suited man was about to walk out of the room before realising something, "Actually, I don't believe I asked you for your name. Would you care to enlighten me?"

"I-Izuku M-Midoriya," the boy stammered out, seconds away from fainting.

"Well, Mr Midoriya. I hope to see you soon," the man smiled at him, "And cool suit."

Those final words pushed Izuku over the edge and before he could say anything else, he fell to the ground. Exhaustion from the fighting, the sprint up the stairs, the anxiety of revealing his inventions to an audience and the delight of Beacon's headmaster complimenting him caught up to him and he stayed on the ground for a few seconds, barely conscious.

"Mel, do my reveal for me…" Izuku was barely able to murmur out before he went out like a light.


	5. Entering Beacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5th chapter and the first one in Beacon, aren't you guys excited? Probably not but I try my best. Sorry this all took so long but I hope you all enjoyed the prologue and will continue to enjoy the main story. Also, the eyepiece that Izuku has made is very similar to a DBZ Scouter. I can't seem to find another word for it but yeah, think of the DBZ scouter.
> 
> Another thing I'll mention is that Ruby's Crescent Rose has a canonical 'war scythe' mode since it's the form used throughout the 'Red trailer.' This is going to be mentioned from time-to-time since it's a better weapon type than the standard scythe.
> 
> Also, I apologise for posting the wrong chapter initially. Since I started posting on AO3 multiple chapters after I'd started on FFN, I thought that it would be better to space out chapters rather than slap on all 90k (which is currently written) at once and thus there are extra chapters. I'll try not to make the same mistake again.

**5th chapter and the first one in Beacon, aren't you guys excited? Probably not but I try my best. Sorry this all took so long but I hope you all enjoyed the prologue and will continue to enjoy the main story.**

**Also, the eyepiece that Izuku has made is very similar to a DBZ Scouter. I can't seem to find another word for it but yeah, think of the DBZ scouter.**

**Another thing I'll mention is that Ruby's Crescent Rose has a canonical 'war scythe' mode since it's the form used throughout the 'Red trailer.' I'll probably use that form a lot since it makes more sense as a weapon though I'll be using the standard scythe shape a lot as well.**

* * *

On the airship to Beacon, an armoured boy sat in the back of the ship. The green armour looked to be a silent, solemn figure of strength that appeared to not be moving a muscle with a vacant, blank mask on the face. The mere presence of the strange figure dissuaded any passers-by from approaching the figure but that didn't seem to affect said green armour, who remained motionless throughout the entire ride.

"Melissa, did you really spoil the surprise?" Izuku asked, almost whining, from inside the suit. Thankfully, the suit muffled most of the noise from inside the suit so no one could hear the pathetic whines.

"Not entirely. Pyrrha just asked whether you'd made anything new recently. I only told her that she'll find out about it sooner or later," the blonde responded, "Vague enough if you ask me. I wouldn't steal your thunder, I mean you did make the gadget specifically for her. If I told her early, all of that effort would be wasted."

"Thank you. I spent forever trying to integrate the IR laser sight into Pyrrha's weapon without messing with its other forms. I'd hate for all that effort to be ruined. The eyepiece that goes along with it was a cakewalk to make," Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, "To be honest, the eye-piece wasn't that hard to make but making sure the laser sight didn't interfere with the blade portion of the sword and any of the important parts of the spear took way too much effort."

"Yeah. How did you get Pyrrha's blueprints in the first place?" the girl asked with a slight laugh, "You'd have crumbled if you asked her directly especially if she asked you why."

"She didn't ask and just gave the blueprint. Of course, if she had asked why, you're right in saying that I'd have been found out," Izuku explained, "Thankfully, she'd been binging this show so she sent the files with no questions."

"I see. And for a second I thought the 'Hero of I-Island' was as charismatic as the reporters said he was," she teased with a tone of faux disappointment.

"God, I hate that name. It makes me sound so cool that anything I do after it will be a disappointment. At least they made sure that my actual name wasn't tied to the incident, all the media knew about me was what they knew about Dreamcatcher. Of course, now that I'm here in Dreamcatcher, people may make the link." Izuku mumbled with a down expression, "I just have to make sure that wasn't a fluke."

"It wasn't a fluke, Izuku. A fluke doesn't get Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon, to put you on the shortlist. You worked hard for this position, Izuku. Don't overlook that."

"Thanks Mel. I'm pretty sure the airship is going to touch the ground in a few minutes so I'm going to hang up. And thanks for the encouragement, it really helps."

"Don't worry, Izuku. Just blow them away in the initiation and that's good enough for me. See ya later!" the blonde said before ending the call.

Izuku rolled his shoulders and neck, loosening his stiff joints. As he stretched his neck to the right, the boy was surprised to see a girl in a long-sleeved black and red dress staring at him, as if she was intrigued by his presence. He would've thought about it longer but then he remembered that the look of his armour was public knowledge, even if it wasn't widely-known. Could it be that-

"Gah! Y-You're alive. I thought you were an empty suit," the girl started before looking at him more closely, "There is someone under there, right? Oh no, I'm already talking to objects. Yang's gonna-"

"Er, no. I'm alive," Izuku didn't really know what to say. He'd made his fair share of friends in I-Island but that was usually over group projects so he was at a loss on how to introduce himself to another person.

"O-Okay. Good, you're doing good, Ruby," she whispered to herself, unaware Izuku heard her, "So... Cool armour..."

"T-Thank you. I spent a lot of time developing it back in I-Island. I'd like to think it's my magnum opus," Izuku explained before spending a second to think about what he could reply with, "Your... uh. What do you have?"

"Oh, er. I have this scythe!" she whipped out a small red slate from beneath her red cloak before activating it and releasing a tall, fairly intimidating scythe, "It's a high-calibre sniper scythe so it can switch between this sniper-scythe mode and a rifle mode."

"Nice. Dreamcatcher includes weapons beneath the armour plates. I also have a few handguns and a sniper of my own," Izuku said before letting a single wire move from his wrist and lift a handgun from the holster, "An example would be Black Whip, which are these metal wires I can control with electricity."

"Dreamcatcher? Y-You name your weapons too?" she seemed so excited that Izuku almost had to look away from the bright grin on her face, "Yang said it was weird when you use your weapon's name in public. I knew she was wrong!"

"So, what's your scythe's name then?" Izuku asked, finding some topic that he could talk about, "I called mine Dreamcatcher because it helps me achieve my dreams of becoming a huntsman."

"I just called mine Crescent Rose... Cos, er, the blade is a crescent shape and my second name is Rose. Oh, I never told you my name. I'm Ruby Rose."

"Izuku Midoriya. That's my name." Izuku said with a small smile, "Nice to meet you, Ruby!"

"Cool. Nice. Great," the girl said before mumbling something unintelligible, "So, er, any other weapons you've made?"

"I have a tranquiliser gun," Izuku said before sliding his pistol back into the holster and then pulled out the tranquiliser gun, "I'm using my own sedative so it's pretty great at non-lethal takedowns."

"It's your own sedative? Woah, are you some chemistry wiz?" Ruby asked before bouncing on her feet, "Can you show me? Please, please, please- Gah!"

The hooded girl's excitement was cut short when a tall, toned blonde placed a hand on her shoulder. Shocked from the sudden contact, she jumped to the right, blurring into a shroud of red petals and moving five metres away from both Izuku and the blonde. Izuku looked up at the blonde and blushed slightly: she was ... what was a neutral way to say it, endowed. Yes, the girl was well endowed and Izuku, being the awkward, hormonal teen he was, spent a few seconds looking at those... things. He was glad that Dreamcatcher completely hid his eyes behind the mask or he'd be called out for it.

"Heh, cool armour!" she said with a smirk, "Though I've gotta say, you kinda look like an insect or maybe a rabbit. You... you're not a faunus, are you?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm human," Izuku pointed out before opening the locks on his helmet and lifting it off of his head, "See, no rabbit ears..."

"That armour looks pretty high-tech. You must be pretty smart to have made it," she said before giving a small smile, "Name's Yang. I see you've met my beloved sister."

"Nice to meet you, Yang," the boy quickly put his helmet back, locking it in place, "And yeah, I've met Ruby."

"She's pretty cool, right! Not too long ago she- mmmmmf" the girl was muffled by a small pale hand, disappointment in her lilac eyes.

"Yang, you promised not to tell anyone!" the short girl's silver eyes shone with betrayal, "Like I told you before, I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees! Is that too much to ask for?"

"Yeah, I know Rubes. But you've gotta put yourself out there. How else are you going to make friends?"

"Izuku's my friend, right?" there was a hint of desperation in the girl's tone, "We both make weapons and stuff. And his armour is so cool and he even gave it a cool name like me so we must be friends!"

Unsure of what to do, the boy decided to go along with it, "Y-Yeah. I guess we're friends."

"Oh," Yang changed her tone and her eyes shone with mischief, "And just like that, you've started this year with a _Yan-"_

Yang was muffled by Ruby before she could finish. The scythe user was clearly weaker than her sister but that didn't stop her from trying. Having enjoyed the struggle slightly, Yang grabbed the hand on her mouth and pushed it back to Ruby playfully. Looking at the pouting girl, the older girl gestured zipping her lips.

"Thank you, Yang," Ruby said before a small smile grew on her face, "So, erm, Izuku. I guess you've already seen my semblance. I can go pretty fast and it's pretty cool, I guess. Although, I still think my Crescent Rose is better, they work pretty well together so I can't complain. What about you?"

"I don't really have a semblance or Aura," Izuku twiddled his fingers, letting some electricity move between the armoured digits, "But I do have some Dust-based powers. They're pretty... nice."

"Oh my God, you don't have Aura? How are you going to be a huntsman! Dude, are you sure you can do stuff in Beacon! You'll get hurt!" Ruby's words started blurring together. Even if it was unintentional, the words stung; had Izuku's armour really not been enough to make him a huntsman?

"I'm going to be a huntsman, no matter what!" Izuku said with conviction, determination laced within his words, "I've spent months making this armour and perfecting my Dust to make up for not having an Aura. There's no way you can talk me down."

"Chill, dude. Ruby's just a little worried," Yang played mediator and placed a hand on his shoulders, "If you passed the test and Ozpin let you join his academy, I'll believe in you even if you don't have an Aura. So, I heard you have Dust powers. Care to explain?"

Izuku's eyes softened slightly from the shorter girl's guilty look; the sheer determination and what could be hints of anger that glowed from his emerald eyes were replaced with a slight amount of excitement. Around 90% of his journey to achieve Dust may have just been watching Drone footage but that last 10% may have been one of the most exhilarating points of his life and adrenaline starts pumping just at the thought of the night.

"There was a tribe in Tenebris that infused themselves with Dust. I found out where they were located and went over there to learn how they did it. Some stuff happened and a few fights later, I was infused with electric and energy Dust and labelled one of the best candidates they'd seen since I had the least Aura that the Dust would conflict with," Izuku released a shower of sparks from his fingertips to emphasise his point, "Since then, I've built this armour and developed my weapons so that I could join Beacon."

Yang nodded slowly before a small, comforting smile appeared on her face, "That's nice, Izuku. You've got a new supporter so hold your head high and show the world how cool you are!"

"Y-Yeah. Thanks, Yang. It was nice of you to say that," the boy smiled slightly.

"Don't mention it. A friend of Ruby is a friend of mine and I don't leave friends behind. By the way, your armour's kinda familiar. Have you been on one of those tech expos? Ruby watches a lot of them so I'm sure I've seen you somewhere."

"W-Well, when I was at I-Island, I used to sell some of my inventions during the I-Expo but that was outside of my armour," Izuku didn't think people would make the connection so soon but he couldn't say he'd expected to stay below the radar for too long, "However, in the previous Expo, I-"

"You're the Hero of I-Island!" Ruby blurted out loudly, causing those around her to quickly turn to the girl and then to the armoured boy, "You're so cool with your zappy powers and your speeds and your guns. And you saved so many people and-"

"C-Can you keep it quiet? I'd prefer it if no one talks about what I've done," Izuku said in a rather small voice, "I'm just Izuku Midoriya, nothing more and nothing less."

"Heh, he's kinda like you Ruby," Yang pushed the girl playfully, "Ya see, she doesn't want to say it but she had to fight Roman Torchwick, one of the most dangerous and elusive criminals in Vale, and almost captured him. She's trying to downplay it since she doesn't want to look special. Both of you are birds of a feather, ya know."

Izuku nodded before looking out of the window. The airship had landed after the short flight and opened its doors to Beacon's main entrance. The castle looked so much larger from ground level; it was almost like a relic of a great civilisation with its aged exterior, grandiose size and fortress-like defences that were so much more impressive in person.

"I need to go look for one of my friends. It was nice meeting you guys. Maybe we'll see each other during the initiation," Izuku said before heading towards the door himself, "I'll see you later!"

The armoured individual stopped off of the airship with a small smile on his face. He, Izuku Midorriya, was at Beacon Academy, This was where he'd forge his path and become a huntsman that the world could rely on. Hell, if he really did well, perhaps he would become someone that inspired those that didn't think they could become a huntsman to follow their dreams. Wasn't that a nice thought?

He shook the thought away and decided to start his search for Pyrrha. His first action was to quickly survey the area and look for the rather eye-catching red colour that made up the girl's hair. The search came up short with the boy only seeing people that had hair colours similar to the girl (usually a few shades lighter or with a more muted tone.) Having not seen the girl anywhere, the boy decided to call her using his scroll. The armoured boy scrolled through his contacts before finding Pyrrha and ringing it.

"Izuku, are you at Beacon yet?" the girl asked, chipper than normal, "I landed about an hour ago so I'm _so_ bored! It's going to be so nice to see you again in person!"

"It sure will. Where are you anyway?" Izuku asked as he looked around once more, "I can't see you anywhere!"

"I'm just waiting by the fountain in front of the main entrance. After you come here, we can go to the auditorium," she took a moment to yawn before continuing, "Are you wearing your armour right now? I've been wanting to see Dreamcatcher in person for a while now."

"Yes, I'm wearing the armour; I wouldn't have come here without it. I think I see which fountain you mean, I'm heading there now," Izuku started walking over to the fountain at a relatively leisurely pace, "So, have you met anyone new recently?"

"I've seen some people pass by though I haven't really said much to them," the girl took a second to think, "Although, I think I saw this white-haired girl stare at me funny from quite the distance. She ran off as soon as I waved at her. You?"

"I met some people on the airship here. I talked to a pair of sisters for a few minutes and they were pretty cool-" Izuku was interrupted by the sight of a short white-haired girl in a white dress shouting at one of the girls he'd met on the airship, "Hey, you know that girl you mentioned earlier. She wouldn't happen to have been wearing a white dress and walking around with a bunch of suitcases, would she?"

"Er, yeah. Why?" Pyrrha asked, a slight amount of curiosity in her voice.

"For a Schnee, she seems to know very little about safely containing Dust," Izuku almost facepalmed, "She's waving a loose container of fire Dust around, in front of other people. That girl's a safety hazard to those around her."

"A Schnee… That's that one Dust family in Atlas, right?" the redhead asked before sighing slightly, "I have to focus more on training than whatever the hell Atlas does anymore."

"Yep. I only really know them as the main rival for I-Island's dust mining program. Still, I would have thought that a girl who's entire family is based on Dust would know enough to not wave it around like a toy. She's going to get someone hur-"

Izuku was interrupted by the loud bang of an explosion, the centre of which was suspiciously close to the white-haired girl. The inventor didn't know whether to laugh or cry about the girl's incompetence; it may have been funny but he doubted a girl like that should be put in charge of one of the largest Dust companies on Remnant. At least she might be able to learn from this mistake although the fact that the Schnee was berating someone else for it said otherwise.

"Izuku, you heard that, right?" the spartan seemed to be on alert, "Do you want to check it out?"

"Yeah, looks like they need some help," Izuku sighed into the microphone, "Especially the girl on the floor; it looks like she's getting chewed out for no reason."

With a rush of electrical energy, Izuku sprinted over to where Ruby and the Schnee were. He flashed over pretty quickly before offering a hand towards the girl on the floor. After blinking in confusion at the armoured boy, she took the hand and pulled herself up. It seemed that the white-haired girl had finally noticed his presence and stopped her rant.

"- Who? Who the hell do you think you are?" it seemed she was ready to start another rant, "Why are you helping her? She just set off fine Dust! If she gets hurt, she has to deal with it herself!"

"That Dust container is loose. Look closely at the mouth of the vial, Dust is leaking out and you're waving it about. F-From my perspective, you're the one at fault for not containing your Dust properly," Izuku almost giggled slightly when he realised he was explaining how to handle Dust to a Schnee, who's family's most profitable venture was Dust mining, "Y-You need to accept that and move on. Not berate some random girl who just happened to… e-er w-why was she shouting at you again?"

"I kinda bumped into her. B-But I wasn't the one that made the container loose! She just started acting crabby for no reason!" Ruby defended herself before she scratched her cheek, "Er, thanks for the help, Izuku. S-Sorry about before. I-I didn't mean t-to offend you or anything. Y-You're just so cool and your armour and weapons are so gosh darn-"

"I-It's fine, Ruby. That's in the past and we're friends, right?" Izuku said, almost embarrassed by the spontaneous praise, before finally turning back to the girl in white, "But, yeah. You really need to learn more about Dust before you-"

"Do you even know who I am?" the girl didn't wait for an answer before snorting and giving him a condescending look, "I'm Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Corporation! If anyone would know how to handle Dust, it would be me!"

"Izuku, you move pretty fast," Pyrrha called out as she finally reached the boy, "So...What happened?"

"Nothing much," Izuku scratched the back of his head with relief, "I'm pretty sure we're done with… er, w-whatever this was. D'ya want to go to the auditorium now? Y-You can come as well if you want, Ruby."

"Oh, thanks, Izuku! Where is that auditorium anyway?" Ruby said sheepishly before pointing at Pyrrha with curiosity, "Also, who's that?"

Before Pyrrha could introduce herself, Weiss guffawed at Ruby's lack of knowledge, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? That's Pyrrha Nikos, the top performer and student of Sanctum Academy, has won the Mistral Regional Tournament three years in a row with numerous other tournaments. That's a new record!"

"O-Okay," Ruby started before awkwardly looking at Pyrrha, "T-Thanks for that, I guess, Weiss. So, er, Pyrrha, are you, er, Izuku's friend?"

Having just been exposed for being a record-holder and minor celebrity, Pyrrha took a second before she finally responded to Ruby with a small smile, "Er, yeah. Izuku's one of my friends from Sanctum. He's probably my closest friend all things considered. What about you Ruby? Do you know Izuku from somewhere?"

"I only met him today on the airship. He's got such cool weapons. Like that weird wire thing that's just so bizzare, it's just awesome!" Ruby squealed before coughing awkwardly, "So, er, Pyrrha. W-What weapon do you have?"

"Well, my weapon's name Miló and Akoúo̱, which means 'Speak' and 'Listen' respectively. The words come from a South Mistrali language from before the war," Pyrrha said before unsheathing her sword and shield, "They're pretty normal all things considered but Milo has three main forms: a sword, a javelin and a rifle."

"Three weapon types? You must be crazy skilled like that Weiss girl said. Since you showed me yours, I'll show you mine," Ruby activated her own scythe before giving it a few test swings to show off her skills, "This is my high-calibre sniper scythe. It can only switch between two forms of sniper-scythes and a marksman rifle but my uncle Qrow taught me all about how to use a scythe and the other teachers gave me some marksman skills."

"Your weapon is cool too," Pyrrha praised her before nodding her head towards Izuku "Although weapons and gadgets are more Izuku's realm of expertise."

"O-Oh, speaking of which. I built a little addition to Miló for you," the armoured boy slid the small laser-sight and eyepiece out of the magazine pocket he'd kept them in, "I know you said you wanted to include something with the rifle version of Miló to help with long-distance shooting. So, I made this little laser sight that can slip onto the rifle form whilst not intruding on its other forms."

Once the girl gave him Miló, Izuku slipped the attachment into the perfect position that he'd specified before switching its form from rifle to javelin. As he'd planned, the laser sight moved along with the rest of the mechashift and ended up on one of the lowest sections of the spear, specifically the section that Pyrrha usually didn't grip (according to the recordings he'd watched.) He changed it again and turned it into its sword form where the laser sight turned into a pommel.

"It's an infrared laser sight that can be used to help aim your rifle and your javelin," Izuku flicked the light on, knowing that they wouldn't be able to see it, "Of course, since it's infrared, you can't see it with the naked eye so I made you this eyepiece to both see the beam and include some other features. I've mainly included the zoom feature as well as night vision and thermal vision."

As Izuku handed both the weapon and the eyepiece to the girl, he'd expected a word of thanks or maybe a small hug. What he hadn't expected was a bone-crushing embrace that the boy could feel below all of the armour. He'd been frozen in place before returning the hug awkwardly, which resulted in Pyrrha patting him on the head enthusiastically. The boy still wasn't much of a hugger but Melissa's insistence led to him being ever so slightly more comfortable with them.

"You're adorable, you know that Izuku?" the redhead loosened her hug slightly before letting go, "I remember when we first met, you said you'd make something for me. I'd completely forgotten about it until now but it seems like you've remembered. You're just a precious cinnamon roll, aren't you?"

"P-Pyrrha," Izuku whined, face ablaze from both the praise and slight amounts of embarrassment.

"Hehe, 'cinnamon roll!'" Ruby teased gleefully, "That's cute! Heh, that's your new nickname, Izuku!"

"Hey! How'd you like it if I called you... er, I'm really bad at names actually," Izuku shook his head, "But that's beside the point; you wouldn't like it if I gave you a cute nickname!"

"Hah, you called it cute!" Ruby raised her fist towards Pyrrha who, once understanding what she wanted, bumped it with her own, "That's one point to team Ruby and Pyrrha and 0 to Izuku!"

"Alright, fine, you win," Izuku sighed in defeat, "Can we actually start heading towards the auditorium now?"

"O-Oh, right. I completely forgot about that," Ruby said sheepishly, "Lead the way, cinnamon roll!"

Izuku sighed in acceptance before nodding, "You know, Ruby. This might just be the start of something special."

* * *

"Hey, Ruby! I saved you a spot!" a tall blonde called out, causing Ruby to leave Izuku and Pyrrha so that she could wade through the crowd and make her way there.

"Yang! You left me!" Ruby pouted before giving the older girl a hug on the arm, "But thanks for saving me a spot."

"So, new friends? I've already met Mr Mecha over there but what about her," Yang smiled before giving her sister a soft punch to the arm, "Two friends already, wasn't this a productive day?"

"I mean, I met this one crabby girl. She walked around with a bunch of suitcases and Dust and, after waving it in front of me, I _exploded_!" Ruby shouted, emphasising the exploded with wild hand gestures, "And, that's Pyrrha. She's Izuku's friend but she's got a cool weapon which makes her a cool person."

"You're going to scare someone away if you keep judging them on their weapons. Not that Greenie minds, he's probably in the same boat," Yang teased once more before offering a handshake to the redhead, "So, Pyrrha, my little sis is pretty cool, right?"

"Er, yes. She's rather enthusiastic but it is quite endearing," Pyrrha seemed to be reminded of something, "Kind of like an alternate version of Izuku."

Izuku stood awkwardly as the conversation went by. It was nice that they were getting along with each other but the boy was still as much of an awkward mess as he used to be. Not knowing exactly what to do, the boy removed an EMP grenade from one of his pockets and threw it gently from one hand to the other, using it as something to focus his mind on. He was only able to repeat the cycle twice before he gained the attention of Ruby and Yang.

"Dude, what kind of space-age bomb is that?" Yang asked with a building curiosity, "Did you make that yourself?"

"Hm, this is an EMP grenade. It shuts down any electrical currents. It's mainly useful for taking down cameras, disabling alarms and alerts and breaking any defense circuits.I find it's pretty good practice to have a few on you just in case," Izuku explained before placing the device into his pocket, "I made it along with few other Dust grenades but they might cause actual damage if triggered accidentally."

"Are you a thief? That's totally a thief's tool," Yang pointed out causing the boy to flush, "I mean, you're probably not but disabling alerts and cameras would definitely be the modus operandi of a thief, right?"

"I mean, you're not wrong," Izuku scratched the back of his head and noticed someone walking onto the stage, "It looks like Professor Ozpin is doing his speech"

The quartet turned towards the large stage where a gray-haired man stood, stoically analysing the crowd in front of him, "I'll keep this brief… I'm sure many of you have travelled here from distant lands, ready to hone your craft, to acquire new skills, to improve yourselves in both mind and body. And, once you've done that, you'll be ready to dedicate your lives, whatever time and energy that you have, to the protection of the people. But, when I look at you now, the only thing that catches my eye is wasted energy. No purpose, no direction, you're all looking for a cause to put your efforts behind and I'm wondering now whether you've all made the right choice."

There was some outcry at those words but the room remained rather quiet. The man had a commanding presence, that of a veteran who'd seen many battles and watched both allies and enemies fall on the battlefield. When he told someone they were just wasted energy and efforts, they listened and tried to apply whatever insight they could to fix that.

"You seek knowledge, assuming it will free you from this… ambivalence, if you will. However, your time at this school will teach you that knowledge can only carry you so far. Every man, woman and child must find what they fight for, what they can dedicate their time, their energy, their very lives towards. It is up to you to take the first step..." the man gave a quick cursory glance at the crowd in front of him, satisfied with the response, before walking away with a blonde woman taking his place.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation will begin at 10:30 sharp. You'll be given a small amount of time before the initiation to prepare yourselves, be ready. You're dismissed." the woman gave everyone a stern, cold look before walking off of the stage.

"That… was kinda harsh," Yang said, flicking her hair away from her eyes, "He seems so distant… almost as if he's detached from the world."

"It's necessary," Izuku spoke up, thinking back on the man's words, "Huntsmen don't exactly retire. They'll always be called back when needed, whether they want to or not. A lot of people see being a huntsman as an occupation, another form of mercenary work. I guess it is in a way but it's an occupation that you will never leave. As long as there are Grimm to fight, we'll be sent out in droves to take them down even if we don't want to."

"Woah. I guess that is important. I know a few people back in Signal who want to be huntsmen for fame and fortune," Ruby started before lightening up, "I have to include Ozpin's speech in my letter to them! D-Does anyone remember it? I guess I'll just paraphrase."

"Wouldn't they have come with you?" Izuku asked before rubbing the back of his head slightly, "Unless they went to one of the other academies. In that case, they'd probably get a similar speech from their Headmaster."

"Ah, well you see…" Ruby began before trailing off.

"Ruby got in early since she was able to fight off Roman Torchwick, Vale's most elusive criminal to date and kingpin of the underground Dust industry." Yang said pridefully, pulling the girl into a one-armed hug, "She's pretty talented and Ozpin noticed so she got an early spot! Ain't that cool?"

"Yang…" Ruby closed her eyes in embarrassment and squealed, "I thought you said you wouldn't mention that either!"

"Ruby, you're clearly younger than everyone else here. Just look at your round cheeks and adorable little voice. Hell, I think you're shorter than everyone else in the room… Well, maybe you're the same size as that white-haired chick behind you!"

"White-haired?" Ruby turned around and saw Weiss staring daggers into the back of her head, leading to the scythe-wielder jumping into her sister's arms, "Oh my god, that crabby girl is staring at me! Yang, save me!"

"C'mon, Rubes. You've already made two friends, you can go in for a third!" Yang gently placed the girl on her own two feet and slapped her on the back, "Now, atta girl!"

"Aw, darn it, Yang. Fine…" Ruby begrudgingly walked towards the white-haired girl, "Hi, Weiss. I'm sorry that we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we can-"

"I'm not here for you," she said before pointing towards Pyrrha, "I'm here for Pyrrha. I was thinking me and her could team up during the initiation tomorrow. It's not like there's any worthwhile alternatives here anyways so she should go with the best candidate."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" Ruby pouted at the girl, "I doubt Pyrrha would want to go with someone as stuck up as you!"

"Why wouldn't she? I'm strong enough to at least be her equal in combat. We were also both at the top of our respective classes so I think it only makes sense that we should team up," Weiss reasoned, oblivious to the uncomfortable face Pyrrha was making.

"Um-" the redhead was cut off before she could say anything meaningful.

"Hey, Weiss, was it?" Yang asked, a mischievous smirk on her face, "You seem like the rich type. Would I be wrong in guessing you were homeschooled or privately tutored? That undermines the whole 'top of the class' thing, doesn't it?"

"W-Well, for your information, I _was_ privately tutored _but_ I am at the top compared to similarly aged students at the public combat schools!" Weiss's face was clearly flushed although the girl refused to acknowledge it, "So, Pyrrha, do you have an answer?"

"Well, I'm flattered that you would choose me of all people to be your partner, Weiss. I really am. Hopefully we can be friends during the school year," Pyrrha began, only continuing once she saw Weiss was about to say something, "But, I was going to partner up with Izuku."

"Izuku… wait, him?" Weiss asked inquisitively before looking at the armoured boy in shock, "Why him of all people?"

"Well, I-" Pyrrha started before stopping once again, "He's my friend, someone that I could trust with my life. That's all that matters"

"Hmph, fine," Weiss walked away from the group, slightly down by the fact that her offer was rejected.

"E-Erm. I guess we should probably set up in the ballroom?" Izuku asked, attempting to break the tension in the group, "On the way, do you mind if I ask why you guys want to be huntsmen? You don't have to if it's personal or you just don't want to but I guess I'm just curious."

"Oh, sure. I know it sounds kinda shallow but I'm in it for the thrill," Yang explained, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "It's not really anything noble but combat is exciting, I just can't get enough of it. Sure, I could've been a conventional hunter but that relies on stealth and gets boring. I also would have joined law enforcement but they have too many rules and too little action. So, I thought that the only one that suits me is the role of a Huntsman since they're almost always in a fight with the Grimm. I guess I'm exactly the person Ozpin was talking about during that speech. But hey, if I help someone and have fun along the way, we all profit."

"Why not just be a bounty-hunter?" Izuku asked, "They're almost always hunting for someone. You'd get your fill of action and you'd likely be helping just as many people assuming you hunt the right people"

"Sure but I chose this life," Yang chuckled lightly, almost nervously, "I guess I have some more personal reasons but I don't feel right talking about them just yet."

"It's fine. I guess I'll go next since I asked first," Izuku said, not wanting to push Yang further than he already had, "I want to be a huntsman to help people with one of the largest threats we, humans and Faunus, must fight together. But, since I'm an A-0, quite literally the weakest of the weak, I was told to not try and become one. Either from pity, disdain or, in the rarest cases, genuine concern, people wanted me to do something else, be someone else. But, I just couldn't shake off the need to help fight the Grimm. I guess at the core of it, I just want to show that I'm useful, that I have a purpose. Sure, I could give my weapons and gadgets to everyone else and sit on the sidelines but that'd help people, both good and bad, help themselves. At the end of the day, I just want to help people and do something useful with my life."

"Ooh. You're like the generic, lawful-good protagonist," Ruby said, punching him lightly on the arm, "Just like those heroes from those books my mum used to read to me. Heh, I have to believe in you now!"

"You didn't believe in me before," Izuku said in mock offence before giving the girl a smile, "So it's just you and Pyrrha then. Anyone want to go next?"

"Er, sure," Pyrrha looked at Ruby as if to ask if she wanted to go instead, and received a shrug, "I wanted to be a huntsman ever since I heard about what they were. Ever since I first used a sword and found where my talents were, I decided I wanted to save people. In my opinion, there are three large threats to humanity as a whole: the tensions between the kingdoms, the conflict between races and the Grimm. I can't do much about the conflicts between races, I don't see myself as someone who can mediate two massive factions and attempts to solve it with brute force are doomed to fail. On the other hand, I refuse to join the military or army, I don't want to fight for the ideals and beliefs of those above me without having a say in the matter. Therefore, I chose to become a Huntsman to fight the threat I believe I will do the most against: the Grimm."

Ruby scratched the back of her head, blushing slightly, "I've wanted to be a huntsman ever since my mum first read to me about heroes in those storybooks. After a while, I asked her about heroes in real life and she'd tell me about her job as a huntsman and how they'd save people, help people enjoy their lives instead of always being afraid of a Grimm attack. She used to tell me about how she used to go to villages and helped them with their problems. Whenever she talked about the people she saved, she always smiled and told me that it was the best feeling in the world to know that you helped someone else live another day. I-I wanted to be like that, to help people and know what she meant when she said that."

Izuku's eyes widened ever so slightly, how hadn't he linked the hood, the hair or the name, "Your mum wouldn't happen to be Summer Rose, would she?"

"Y-You know her?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice, "Have you seen her before? Is she alive?"

"N-No. I'm a fan of huntsmen, both those from the past and those that are active nowadays," Izuku said, feeling bad when he saw that disappointed look on Ruby's face, "Her disappearance is one of the most confusing since there's nothing that could have killed her and nothing that would have made her run away. The reports from the people at the settlement all agree that she was able to eliminate the Grimm there without receiving more than mild bruises which could be healed via Aura. It's a cold case with no real answer with all of the evidence we have."

"You're right; my uncle Qrow went there himself after she'd been gone for a week and noted that the settlement she'd been sent to protect had been saved. We don't know where she is or whether she's still alive but I know for a fact that if she was alive, she'd still be saving people. T-That's why I want to be a huntsman. I want to become a huntsman and look for my mum. If she's alive, maybe I can find her on one of my missions. A-and… if she really is dead, maybe she'll be proud of me. She'll be proud of who I became. "

Izuku didn't know how to respond to that. It was something much deeper and more… meaningful than his motivation was. Not that he cared, right now there was a girl in front of him who was on the brink of the boy had to do something about it. He wasn't much of a hugger so he couldn't just be like Pyrrha and wrap everyone into an embrace. But… was his discomfort more important than Ruby's happiness? Izuku wouldn't feel right if he said yes.

"H-Hey, I'm sure your mum's proud of you wherever she is," Izuku said, pulling her into an awkward hug that was likely just as awkward for her as it was for him, "So you've just got to walk on and make sure you find her someday. I-I believe in you t-too."

"Yeah, what he said," Yang took over, wrapping an arm around Ruby and Izuku (much to his surprise). "We'll find her together Ruby. That's why we both came here, to find our mum and make her proud! So, lift your chin and hold your head high Rubes. You're already awesome so I bet mum's already super proud of you anyway!"

"S-So, erm. S-Since we've done that, d-do you want to head to the ballroom to set up and put our stuff down? After that, w-we can walk around Beacon and s-see what this school has to offer," Izuku suggested, feeling a mound of… something on the back of his head, "D-D'you wanna go now then?"

"Y-Yeah!" Ruby said enthusiastically, slowly getting over the sombre conversation, before grabbing Izuku and Pyrrha's hands and pulling them with her, "C-C'mon Yang, let's go!"

* * *

Izuku's head crashed onto his sleeping bag, features tired from all of the running around. After he'd set up, Ruby had literally dragged him and Pyrrha around with her semblance with Yang running behind them, not falling too far behind despite the constant use of the speed semblance. She'd go in bursts of 30 seconds of semblance-boosted speed before she'd slow down and run at a more normal, if rather quick, speed for a minute. It was likely a way for her to conserve Aura and cover more ground efficiently, something he'd give the girl credit for. Along the way, the quartet was able to talk about more casual things like their likes, dislikes and weapons (the one topic Ruby insisted on.)

The armoured boy brought a standalone version of Black Whip with him to bed, mainly because he enjoyed messing around with the lighter wires. This version of Black Whip had several short thin wires that were electricity-based, made for general utility and combat when Izuku was out of his suit. Slowly, the boy lifted two wires up into the air and started spinning them above him, sending cool air onto his face. It was an already warm night and the number of people in one room led to an almost uncomfortably hot temperature.

Drifting closer and closer to sleep, the boy was almost, _almost_ , asleep when a loud blast caused his eyes to open. He sat up and looked around, quickly spotting the source of the blast only a dozen metres away: a boy with spiky ash-blonde hair, sharp red eyes and a deep scowl that imprinted itself into one's mind. It nearly made Izuku smile; he'd been wondering when he'd see Katsuki Bakugo in Beacon. It would never have crossed his mind that the boy wouldn't come with him.

"Shitty Deku, why are you here?" Katsuki told him, "I thought I told you not to bring your sorry, weak ass here."

Izuku smiled, albeit nervously, at Katsuki's words, "I-I made it here just like you. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You're fucking pathetic, Deku! Relying on that pansy-ass equipment you make, it pisses me off that you came instead of someone else. At least they'd be able to fight some Grimm, you're fucking useless; you're a Deku!" Bakugo shouted with rising anger behind the words, "I told you I'd beat your fucking ass if you showed up and you did. Should've stayed in your shitty place, fucking nerd!"

The name had a very weird place in Izuku's heart. It meant 'useless' in an old Mistrali language, something Katsuki thought would fit Izuku very well. Izuku would take offence to being called useless but being called a Deku was different. Katsuki used a rare word from an ancient language as an insult. That took effort and some kind of respect or tolerance or something that wasn't pure apathy. You didn't name the pebble on the side of the road something from an ancient language unless you were crazy or that rock held some sort of value to you.

"H-Hey Kacchan," Izuku stood up slowly, wires rising up and spiking the Dust in his blood, "Y-You've gotten stronger since I last saw you. U-Unluckily for you, s-so h-have I."

"Not showing it, shitty Deku. You look just as weak as last time! You're still a stuttering waste of a person," he snarled before leaping forwards with a few blasts to propel him forwards even faster.

Crackling, the electricity that rolled across Izuku's body started speeding up and becoming more erratic and his veins started glowing from the Dust inside. It was a side-effect that occurred when Izuku pushed his energy Dust above 6%, the highest percentage he could reach currently. There was a bitter smile on the boy's face as he prepared himself to counter Katsuki; he'd wanted to test Dreamcatcher's Blast Bracers against the blonde but Black Whip would do well enough.

Remembering something from past experiences, the inventor slid a wire around the boy's right wrist before sending a high voltage into it, disrupting the blonde's usual start of a right hook. Katsuki responded with a blast from his right hand, pushing the wires away and freeing him from the constant shocks, before pointing both palms at the ground and releasing another explosion. With the added height, the teen went over Izuku's head and landed behind him. With the new position, Bakugo shot both palms forwards to release a powerful explosion, one which would atomise Izuku's torso.

Having a split-second to react, Izuku pointed his fingers backwards and released a sharp burst of electricity into Katsuki's body. As well as this, he used wires to pull at the blonde's ankles, messing with the blonde's stance and causing him to fall back before he could release the blast. Before he hit the ground, Bakugo used an explosion to push himself higher up before kicking his legs up and pulling Izuku into the air with him.

Now pulled five metres into the air, Izuku had the time to analyse Bakugo before launching his next attack. The blonde had his usual snarl on and had a palm facing the ground, likely to propel him from the ground and into Izuku. Now with a slight clue of his opponent's next moves, Izuku used a wire to swat Katsuki to the side and disrupt any plans they had. With Bakugo out of the way, Izuku slammed two wires into the ground and used them to land on the ground safely.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Izuku used another wire to try and grab Katsuki, who had broken the momentum of the hit with a few well-timed blasts. Another well-timed blast was all that Katuki needed to stop the wire from grabbing him. Now with the fight at a standstill, Izuku retracted his wires back into their place in his device. There was a certain chill in the air, despite the warmth of the room, once Izuku noticed that all of the eyes in the room were on him and Kacchan. He'd only subconsciously noted that he was fighting amongst other people and, once he became fully conscious of it, he blushed realising his error.

He wondered for a second how Katsuki had ensured his blasts wouldn't blow anything away only to see that several sleeping bags had been blown back from the place they'd been set. Thankfully, nothing was burned except the floor; it seemed Bakugo's blasts had become much hotter after all of these years. The room was still in silence so Izuku had the time to look at some of the faces of those in the room and noted it was a mixed bag; there were faces of awe, fear, disappointment and, in one case, anger.

"What do you think you're doing!" a white-haired girl called out, glaring at the two who had been fighting, "People are trying to sleep here!"

"Speak for yourself, Weiss-cream," Yang said, having watched the fight as it went on, "Didn't know you were this good, Greenie."

"Shut the fuck up, extras!" Katsuki called before scowling at Izuku, "Why'd you stop, Deku? You're pathetic ass already tired?"

"N-Not really," Izuku called out rolling his shoulders, "But w-we should stop whilst we're indoors. I don't want to get in trouble before we even get to the initiation."

Katsuki nodded in acceptance, though his scowl still held that burning fire which wanted to fight, "We're continuing this later, Deku! Don't you fucking dare try and talk yourself out of it! Did I make myself clear?"

"S-Sure, Kacchan!" Izuku answered, sighing in relief and lowering the amount of Dust that was active, "I'm so glad I didn't get burned. If I wear Dreamcatcher next time, the power difference between him and I should be way smaller."

"Izuku?" Pyrrha asked, walking towards the boy with a slightly proud yet worried expression, "What was that about?"

"Oh, er, Kaachan was here. He's that friend who I based my Blast Bracers on," Izuku explained with a small, nervous smile, "Why do you ask?"

"Izuku, just remember," Pyrrha got much closer to the boy and wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a side hug before lowering her voice, "I know you said he _was_ your friend but just remember that if he does something you don't like, you can tell me. Okay?"

"P-Pyrrha, a-are you okay?" Izuku asked with a slight amount of concern, she wasn't normally this aggressive "B-But, just to make this clear, I still think Bakugo's a… well, maybe not a friend... but, he's not someone I hate. So, don't fight him. Please."

"Fine," she pulled him into a tighter embrace, "You're my precious little cinnamon roll. I don't want you to get hurt."

"O-Okay. C-Can you let go now?" Izuku asked slowly, "My neck… It hurts a lot"

"Oh!" Pyrrha jumped back, blushing brightly as she apologised, "Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's okay," Izuku said, giving a reassuring smile, "I'm going to sleep. See ya tomorrow, Pyrrha."

"Y-Yeah! Wake me up if you wake up first," Pyrrha said before flashing a bright smile at him, "See you, Izuku!"

Izuku's head hit his sleeping bag again. It seemed that, once the fight had finished, people had continued with whatever they had been doing before and their attention shifted away from Izuku and Bakugo. With that lack of attention, the boy lied down and closed his eyes. Just before he fell asleep, he thought about his initiation tomorrow. It was always a hunt for a relic of some kind which would be distributed throughout the ruins in the Emerald Forest. Maybe he should avoid using fire-dust bullets to avoid causing a forest fire. He'd think it over tomorrow.

* * *

"-Or pancakes?" Izuku heard a voice through the haze of sleep, "Waffles or pancakes? Answer me!"

Izuku was shaken awake, shocked out of the thick haze of slumber and now wide awake. Now aware of his surroundings, Izuku looked at the person who was shaking him and felt a weird sense of familiarity. Had he seen her before? He remembered her orange hair from somewhere... maybe she was on the airship with Izuku or in the crowds of people he looked through when he was searching for Pyrrha.

"...Pancakes," Izuku said slowly, using his wires to gently push her away.

"Hah, you're a cool guy, brother-in-breakfast," her turquoise eyes shone with delight as they bore into his own, "You should eat with us. You don't mind, do you Ren?"

"Nora… why did you wake a random person up?" a pink-eyed, black-haired boy pointed out, running a hand through his pink highlights.

"Ren!" Nora stood up, her dark gray t-shirt bristling from the speed she got up, "I'm simply ensuring there are no heathens that require a holy cleansing. You won't get in the way of divine justice, will you?"

"As long as you don't start another pointless crusade, I will let you be," the boy watched the girl just a little longer before sighing and looking at Izuku, "Sorry about that. My friend's a little… enthusiastic about desserts."

"I-I noticed. Thanks, by the way..." Izuku said, letting the situation blow over and retracting his wires.

"Ren, Lie Ren. That was my friend, Nora Valkyrie. She's a little too energetic for her own good," Ren smiled ever so slightly, "But I can't imagine life without her."

"O-Okay. I'm Izuku Midoriya…" Izuku was at a loss on what to do next, "I told my friend I'd wake her up if she was still asleep. I'll see you after the initiation."

Ren nodded slowly, "I have to make sure Nora doesn't shock someone else out of sleep. I'll see you later, Izuku."

Izuku picked himself up, loosening his joints and shaking away any sleep that hadn't been blown away by Nora. Once he was done, he looked around the room for his friend and spotted the familiar crimson hair that was spread across a gold-coloured sleeping bag. The inventor gently walked across the room, careful not to step on anyone's property. Once he'd made his way across, he gently touched the girl's shoulder and shook it.

"H-Huh?" Pyrrha yawned cutely before looking at Izuku, "Izuku? Oh, right. We're in Beacon. I told you to wake me up, didn't I?"

"Yep. The initiation is in two hours so if you want to go back to sleep, I don't mind," Izuku pointed out, lifting his hand from her shoulder and giving her a small smile.

"No. It's better if I wake up early," the girl got out of her sleeping bag and gave him a smile, "Thanks for waking me up, Izuku. Do you know where we're meant to brush our teeth and stuff?"

"I think I saw a restroom sign when we came here," Izuku answered, "After you're done, do you want to go eat breakfast? Someone mentioned pancakes so I thought I should ask."

"It's been a while since I've eaten pancakes," Pyrrha gave him a soft smile, "I'll see you in a few."

* * *

Izuku sat at one of the tables with Pyrrha, thinking about their plan for the initiation, "So, Pyrrha. Once we're in there, how are we going to find each other?"

"We both have some zoom functionality, especially now that you gave me that eyepiece thing," Izuku nodded at that, "If we're close by, I should be able to spot you."

"Should we use a signal?" Izuku asked, "My electricity should be easy to spot, especially when contrasting against the forest background."

"No. You might set a forest fire and might attract someone else. However, your wires are pretty distinct so maybe try extending them and I'll try to spot you. If I see you, I'll throw my spear at you. If you see me, you can just run over; you do have your electric Dust, after all." Pyrrha said before taking another bite of her pancakes, "Once we meet up, we should reach higher ground and look for whatever we're meant to be looking for."

Izuku nodded slowly and was about to continue when he heard the slam of something heavy hitting the table. He turned to look and was surprised to see a tall stack of pancakes piled onto each other. Standing up, the boy looked around the pile and saw the bright smile of the orange-haired girl who woke him up.

"Heya, brother-in-arms. I see you're partaking in the holy ritual!" Nora said, slapping the boy on the back before looking at Pyrrha, more specifically the pancakes she was eating, "Ah, I see we've found a new recruit. Welcome to the pancake church, sister!"

"Nora, you said you'd stop with the cult thing," Ren spoke up from behind the girl, seemingly both tired and amused by the girl, "Hello there, Izuku. And, I don't believe I've met you before."

"Pyrrha Nikos. And you are?" she smiled awkwardly from being invited into a cult, one based on pancakes of all things.

"Lie Ren. This is my friend, Nora," he waved lazily at the girl, "She's rather enthusiastic about her choice of breakfast. Give it a few minutes for her to calm down."

"Alright, team! We've known each other for less than an hour but I feel something. Something deep and powerful in my heart. We are destined to be a team, I feel it in my blood," Nora stood up, placing a foot on the bench and pointed a fist to the skies, "We need a signal to meet each other. I vote for animal cries, does anyone have a good one?"

"E-Er, what?" Izuku asked nervously, "W-Well, me and Pyrrha were just going to try and find each other normally. I might use my thermal vision but I can't really think of any decent signals."

"What about sloth noises? If we make sloth noises, don't you think we'll find each other easier?" Nora said with a bright smile, "First task in the plan: find out what noise a sloth makes."

"Nora, I don't think sloths make noises," Ren pointed out before sighing, "At least, I don't think so. Any other ideas?"

"Yeah. I've got loads!" Nora slammed a fist on the table, shaking the wooden surface, "What about breaking trees? They make a pretty loud thud, don't they?"

"They do," Ren agreed before sighing slightly, "But the sound will only go so far. Plus, people will chase the noise to see if it's a Grimm that needs to be eliminated."

"What about electric Dust? I always keep some on me because of my semblance," Nora suggested, her smile somewhat nervous, "You'd easily be able to see that!"

"I've already suggested that. I have electricity-based abilities so I could release a focused beacon of electricity into the air. The problem with that is that the electricity might hit some wood by accident causing a forest fire and the electricity will be seen by all. You can't be sure Ren will be the first to reach you once he sees it," Izuku sighed, a slight bit curious by the girl's suggestion, "W-What is your semblance, by the way? You don't have to tell me but if it's linked to electricity, we might make a decent team."

"I can conduct electricity around my body and can enhance my body's strength and speed," Nora said with a small smile, "If you have electric powers, you should join mine and Ren's team! I'll never leave Ren behind, I don't want someone else to snatch him away!"

"Nora…" Ren coughed, turning everyone's attention to him, "But, she's not wrong. You two would make a good duo since your abilities mesh so well. Since the standard team of a Huntsman is made from four people, maybe the four of us should make a team. I look forward to working with the two of you if we do end up on a team."

"If you have Ren's approval, you have mine. Now you can't not team up with us," Nora giggled slightly before putting a hand in the middle, "We're teaming up, right?"

Understanding what she wanted, the green-haired inventor nodded slowly and placed a hand over Nora's. Pyrrha, finally understanding what they were doing, followed suit and placed his hand on top of Izuku's. The three looked at Ren who sighed with a small smile and gently placed his hand on top of the pile. Nora, ecstatic as ever counted down from three before shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Go, team!" the orange-haired girl threw her hand up with all the strength she had. Despite already pulling his hand out of the pile, Izuku's hand was hit by Nora's and, before he could process what had happened, he was thrown into the air. The boy was about to stop himself with Black Whip before he felt something cold hit his back. Sliding down to the ground with a damaged hand, Izuku turned around to see a pillar of ice had caught him.

Looking through the ice, he saw a heterochromatic boy with white and red hair staring back at him with a blank stare. After a second of eye contact, the heterochromatic boy turned back to the bowl of noodles in front of him and started eating slowly. Izuku scratched the back of his head and gave a quiet apology before turning away from the boy with no small amount of confusion. Curious, the inventor pondered on whether the ice was the result of ice Dust or a semblance.

"Sorry, Izuku!" Nora called out apologetically, "Didn't mean to throw you!"

"I-It's fine," the boy said, ignoring the dull ache on the back of his neck from hitting the ice as he walked back to his seat, "I can still do the initiation."

"Oh, cool." she grinned at him and gave him a soft punch to the arm, "You're a tough cookie so I didn't think that'd be enough to stop you."

"O-Oh, thank you," Izuku blushed slightly from the praise, "You're pretty tough yourself. Are you this strong without your semblance?"

"Sorta," Nora scratched the back of her head before sliding an arm around Rem's neck, "The strength I have right now is my natural strength plus a little bit of Aura and my semblance. When I'm fighting, I'm much stronger due to Ren teaching me how to manipulate my Aura better. I'm pretty strong right now but, with my Aura, I'm _super_ strong!"

"Aura manipulation?" Pyrrha asked before blushing slightly, "W-Would you mind teaching me as well? I was taught more about swordsmanship and martial combat than on my Aura. If you have any pointers, I'd appreciate them."

"If we end up on the same team, I'll share whatever knowledge I have," the boy said with a small smirk, "Hey, Nora. You should finish your pancakes before they go cold."

Once the table had calmed down, Izuku reached towards his glass of water and sipped it slightly. The boy was about to continue before remembering something from before. He reached into his pockets for something and pulled out a small glass vial of electric Dust. After the cap was taken off, Izuku shook a small amount into the water before lightly shaking the water around to get the Dust to dissolve into the liquid before sealing the vial and pocketing it again. It took several seconds before the Dust fully dissolved into the water but, by the time it had, the water gained a slight yellow tinge that was instantly unappetising. Ignoring that slight disgust, the boy drank the mixture quickly before gently placing the glass back down and coughing slightly,

"I thought you already took your weekly dose," Pyrrha said before giving a look of concern, "Is it okay to take more than normal?"

"I-I mean, I've been taking baby steps for the most part. A-And, I've noticed that the rate of my Dust power increasing has started to plateau," Izuku pointed out, ignoring the gentle burn at the back of his throat, "If I can handle a little extra this week, I might increase that weekly dose by a little."

"Hey, Izuku," Nora chirped from her seat, "Would you mind passing the Dust? I've been running low on my own supply and a little strength boost is always appreciated."

"Er, sure. How much do you want?" Izuku asked before sliding the vial over to Nora, "If it helps, I'm pretty sure I have about 30g left in that vial."

Nora nodded and removed the cap. After that, she proceeded to tip the vial to the side until a small amount of Dust sat at the lip of the vial. With the back of her fork, she cleanly scraped that small amount out of the vial and onto her fork. After handing the vial of electricity Dust to Izuku, she slipped the small amount of Dust into her mouth and activated her semblance. After a second, her body glowed ever so slightly and sparks rolled around her skin before the light dulled and the girl's eyes shone with excitement.

"That… That was the good stuff. Where did you get that?" she asked before her eyes started to glow brighter, "This is _just_ what I needed!"

"Y-You're welcome," Izuku said before pocketing the vial, "It's from I-Island. I went to the academy there and even built some inventions for them so I was allowed to use their Dust supplies at a discount."

"If we're on the same team, which we will be, you _have_ to let me buy some!" Nora said before smiling, "Alright! Now, I have to finish my pancakes."

With Dust supplements taken, the quartet talked until they were called for the initiation. Most of that time was spent with Nora sharing stories about her and Ren's time in Mistral's wilderness before they found a combat school that would let them in. It was rather interesting and amusing to see how different Nora's views and Ren's views were on certain events. At some points, the orange-haired girl would speak full of zeal about a village only for Ren to point out some of the less-than-ideal parts that Nora would forget to mention.

When the boy was finally at a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest, only minutes away from being launched down into the sea of green, he kinda hoped that they would all make it into the same team. Pyrrha stood to his left on top of a launch pad that would, hopefully, throw them in similar directions. Further to his left were Nora and Ren, who were also side by side. As he listened to Ozpin's instructions for the initiation, he heard that his partner was going to be the first person he made eye contact with once he'd landed.

With Dreamcatcher's helmet, it would be pretty hard to tell where he was looking so the boy hoped that, should anyone else see him first, he could brush them off and pretend he didn't see them. Of course, if someone completely stops him in his tracks and makes clear eye contact with him, he'd have no choice but to team up with them. He wouldn't break the rules Ozpin had set for them even if he'd prefer to ignore them.

The armoured teen raised the Dust levels in his body, pushing them to a comfortable 6% on both energy Dust and electricity Dust. He also charged up a small blast, just in case he needed to alter his trajectory once launched. It'll also be his main way of slowing his fall before he used Black Whip to hit the ground safely. As impressive as Dreamcatcher is, he didn't want to try and throw himself off a cliff and rely solely on the armour for protection.

"Any questions?" Ozpin asked, receiving silence in return, "Good. Let us begin."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a chapter for you, there you go. 
> 
> Also, the Nevermore's size was done with some pixel measurements. Its size sounds overkill but no, using Weiss's height of 5 ft 3 in (and rounding it to metres) and a ruler, I was able to use the frame of Weiss hanging onto the Nevermore's underside to estimate the size. So, don't say I exaggerated size or anything, please.

Being thrown into the air was a rather exhilarating feeling for Izuku Midoriya. There was no real way to describe the pure excitement that came from flying over a forest and seeing trees, shrubs and flora blur together. Izuku switched to thermal vision and looked around him, mentally noting down the closest people to him, before focusing on the person he was hoping would be his partner. Pyrrha was heading north-east whilst Izuku was moving a few degrees west of north. The armoured boy used the blast he'd prepared in his palm to change direction and was now heading in a similar direction to Pyrrha.

With his aim sorted, Izuku needed to close the growing distance between him and Pyrrha. Whilst the launch pads launched students in different directions, it also threw them at different speeds and Izuku's pad sent him at a speed slightly slower than Pyrrha's. It wasn't a problem since the teen released two blasts behind him and propelled himself further and further forwards. Within seconds, he was only a dozen metres behind the redhead.

He pondered whether he should use Black Whip to grab her out of the air but that might hinder whatever her landing strategy was. Speaking of which, Izuku looked below him and saw how the ground appeared to be nearing closer and closer every second. Extending Black Whip's wires behind him and charging a small explosion, the inventor prepared himself for landing. Fear crept into his mind but Izuku focused on the task at hand; being distracted would lead to his demise.

His landing strategy was rather simple: quick, short blasts to slow his fall and then using Black Whip to bring him to a stop. That plan was tossed aside when Izuku was only metres above the canopy of the forest; he spotted a clear, sturdy branch in his trajectory which he was going to fall through quite hard. Deciding that the uncertainty of how that would alter his trajectory wasn't something he wanted to take into account, Izuku wrapped two wires around the branch, causing him to swing around the branch in circles. A few well-timed blasts caused Izuku to slow to a stop, leaving him standing on the branch by the end.

Taking a second to gain his bearing, Izuku crouched low and used the thermal vision to try and see where Pyrrha was. Raising the sensitivity of his sensors, Izuku listened for the telltale sound of footsteps below him. A few seconds later and his proximity sensor blared; something was shooting towards him. Using one of his wires, he snatched an object out of the air and examined it.

"Huh, she was serious about throwing her spear," Izuku muttered to himself before turning towards where the spear was thrown and zooming in, "Where is she?"

It took him a few seconds before he spotted the girl amongst the trees. She smiled and waved to which he waved back. She was quite far away so Izuku was going to need to run quite the distance. Raising his electric Dust to 10%, Izuku pushed off of the branch and landed on another. Racing from branch to branch, he was able to spend a second to think about whether he should have spent some more time looking for the ruins before he looked for Pyrrha but he had already lost his position so it wasn't worth thinking about. Kicking off of the trunks of trees and swinging from tree to tree with Black Whip, he remained in constant motion.

As he continued forwards, he thought he heard something or someone calling him from behind. His sensors had barely picked it up because of how faint it was but the armoured teen could've sworn he heard something. Izuku didn't give it much thought; he'd already made eye contact with Pyrrha so it didn't matter at this point. Speaking of which, the inventor kicked off of a final tree and rolled onto the ground at high speeds.

As soon as he picked himself, he looked around only to see no signs of Pyrrha, "Pyrrha? You there? Aw crap, I took too long. I'm sure I spotted her here though… Why am I talking to myself? I need to find my partner! She can't have gone too far."

Just as he was about to start his search, he was surprised to hear a sudden burst of laughter coming from above. That… sounded a lot like Pyrrha now that he thought about it. He looked up for a second for confirmation before quickly darting his eyes back down to the ground, cheeks ablaze. The laughter stopped and, a moment later, Izuku heard the sound of someone landing on the ground.

"Are you okay, Izuku?" Pyrrha asked with slight concern, "You looked up at me and then your eyes shot down. Did you hurt your neck?"

Izuku shook his head before mumbling out, "Skirt..."

"What do you… Oh," Pyrrha blushed slightly, realising what made him look down, "I won't hold it against you if that's what you're thinking. I know you're not a perv-"

"Izuku!" a shrill voice cried out, "H-Huh. Pyrrha?"

The inventor turned to the voice and was surprised to see Ruby, tired and out of breath. She seemed to have been running for quite a while if the quick, shallow breaths were any indication. It seemed whilst her semblance sped up most of her large movements (like running as she showed off before) it appeared she didn't have nearly as much stamina as he would expect. He was going to ask what she was doing before she continued.

"Aw, darn it!" she cried out before falling to the ground and lying on her back, "I thought I could be your partner but you've already seen Pyrrha. Now I have to find someone else."

"E-Erm," Izuku walked over to the girl slowly, "You okay, Ruby?"

"Just… a little tired. You didn't tell me you could run that fast!" she said before shooting back onto her feet and looking at the boy with awe in her eyes, "I can easily go faster but you're way more acrobatic than I am. How did you do all of that branch jumping stuff? I tried to follow you but then I misstepped and hit the ground. That was so cool, you running not me, erm, hitting the ground, I mean. B-But you looked like that Ingenium guy in that one video where he ran across rooftops."

"You mean that video where he was chasing down one of those Yakuza guys?" Izuku asked and received a nod from Ruby, "That was way better than anything I could do. Did you see the part where he jumped off of a lamppost to intercept the guy's path? I could never do that!"

"Eh, doesn't matter. It's still so _cool_." she started waving her hands around her, grandiose arm movements being used to show just how cool it was, "You were like 'woosh' so I didn't know whether I actually saw you or not but I had to follow!"

"It's alright," Izuku said with a small smile, "You can come with us if you want. I'm sure we'll see someone without a partner whilst we go get the relics."

"Er, s-speaking of which, how are we going to find them?" Ruby asked, twitching with unrestricted energy, "Professor Ozpin never specified what the relics were."

"We were going to climb up and look for one of the ruins that the relics are hidden in," Izuku said, "Do you have a scope on Crescent Rose?"

"I do. It's adjustable from a 3x zoom to 25x. I normally use the 10x zoom when sniping, 3x when doing basic shooting and only use 20x and above whenever I need to make more precise shots," she stated before scratching the back of her head, "Why?"

"Well, the more people looking, the more likely we are to find it," Izuku said before pointing towards the branches above him, "Do you think you can climb up there by yourself?"

Ruby focused on one of the more sturdy branches before nodding to Izuku. Taking more than a few steps back, the girl spent a few seconds standing in place before activating her semblance. Rose petals burst out of her before following behind the girl as she quickly ran up the thick trunk of the tree. She almost lost her grip multiple times but she was thankful that the combat boots were made to be extremely grippy and thus stopped her from falling back down. As soon as she stepped onto the branch she'd been focusing on, she doubled over and took a few deep breaths; she had to go at her current top speed to ensure she would keep moving upwards. The silver-eyed girl gave a quick thumbs up at the two below her before using her scope to look around.

Izuku looked at Pyrrha before realising that he'd been holding Miló the entire time. The boy lightly tossed the weapon into the air and Pyrrha grabbed it out of the air before shifting it back into its sword form and sheathing it. He also spent a second to look at Pyrrha's choice of footwear. He was no expert in climbing but he assumed that high heels weren't the footwear of choice.

"Need some help?" Izuku offered, extending a wire that hung in the air a few centimetres from Pyrrha's waist.

"Help would be appreciated," the redhead smiled as the wires wrapped around her waist, "I think I see a branch that I can stand on."

Izuku looked up at the branch before nodding and lifting her slightly. To Pyrrha's surprise, the boy looked at the ground the entire time, not looking upwards once. She would've been confused if not for what happened minutes earlier. It seemed Izuku _really_ didn't want to look up Pyrrha's skirt and the redhead was almost proud of her friend's respectful nature. The only problem was that there were a few close calls with branches that would have hit her head had she not cut them down with Miló.

"Hey, Izuku. I understand that I'm wearing a skirt but I'd prefer it if you looked at the branch," Pyrrha called out, not wanting to have to keep slashing branches off of the tree.

"E-Er, sure. I'll just use my thermal vision to make it less awkward," Izuku said before looking upwards, eyes focusing as far from Pyrrha as possible whilst ensuring she was still in view.

A gentle movement later and Pyrrha was finally on one of the branches. Izuku loosened the wire around Pyrrha's waist before returning the wire to its rightful place in Dreamcatcher. He briefly spent a second to look for a branch that he could stand on as well as one that would allow him to cover any areas that the other two couldn't see. Once he found the right branch, he used a few wires to scale the tree (mainly by sinking a wire into the tree and pulling himself up.)

As soon as Izuku stepped onto his branch, he activated his zoom feature, "Alright, now that we're all in position, we should look for the relics. Just look for any kind of dilapidated building."

The armoured inventor stared at the expanse of green, gaze moving from left to right. He raised the contrast of the camera ever so slightly to make it easier to spot what he assumed would be non-green ruins. Atleast, he hoped they weren't green. If they were, they'd be really easy to miss from far away. As Izuku watched the forest, he noticed some movement from one of the hills several kilometres away from him. The movement wasn't coming from anything on the hill. That would've been normal. No, it almost seemed like the hill was shaking. Was something going on over there?

He shifted his focus away; pondering about hills didn't help him find the ruins and that was his first priority right now. That being said, Izuku was quite curious. It could be someone's semblance; someone could have the ability to channel energy and force it into pulses and waves. Perhaps someone with a strength-enhancing semblance was on the hill. Or maybe, Katsuki was doing something. He shuddered at the thought of Katsuki being _that_ strong seeing as how the entire hill was moving.

Maybe it was a Grimm. That was a much more viable explanation since, depending on the size of the Grimm, they could easily shake the ground around them. Although, from his perspective, it was almost as if something was shaking the hill from the inside. If that was the case, Izuku would prefer that he stay away from that hill. Whatever unholy abomination that resided in there was probably way stronger than whatever Izuku was used to.

"I think I found it," Pyrrha called out, pulling the other two out of their searches, "It's quite far away though."

"Where?" Izuku asked, manoeuvring himself from his branch to Pyrrha's.

"I'll point the laser sight at it," Pyrrha switched Miló into its rifle form and did just that, "Do you see it?"

"Yeah," the inventor's thermal vision easily picked up the IR beam and the direction it was pointing at. Whilst he couldn't see exactly where the laser sight landed, he was able to gain a general idea of where it was. The following examination of that general area let him know the exact location. With that knowledge, he placed a marker on the map function of the scroll in Dreamcatcher before deciding that they should start moving.

"C'mon, Ruby! We need to get down," he called out, "We'll head to the ruins after we get to the ground. Maybe we'll find your partner on the way."

* * *

"Interesting. The boy's doing much better than I expected," Ozpin stated, watching a camera feed that showed Izuku, Pyrrha and Ruby getting down from the tree, "Toshinori wasn't wrong to recommend him. What do you think?"

"His weapon is quite versatile. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think he'd get past the landing phase but it seems he has surpassed my expectations," Glynda answered, "Although, he seems a little too meek. Perhaps Miss Nikos can help him in that regard."

"Quite. The two seem to be on good-terms and although their strengths may overlap, they may benefit from each other," Ozpin spoke, attention shifting from one feed to another, "Although, I do have to wonder whether or nor Miss Rose will find her partner sooner or later."

"Her combat records from Signal were impressive for her age. It'd be a shame for her to be hindered by a bad partner," Glynda admitted before pausing to focus on one of the cameras, "Mr Bakugo and Mr Todoroki appear to have partnered. Their personalities are polar opposites but perhaps that will be beneficial."

"Hm…" Ozpin took a second to take a sip from his coffee mug, "Has anyone else found one of the ruins?"

"Four pairs other than Midoriya, Nikos and Rose… Make that five, it seems Todoroki saw one of the ruins whilst landing." Glynda called out before watching another one of the feeds, "It appears we have some capable students this year."

* * *

"I hear something ahead… Coming from the right side," Izuku pointed out before looking at his HUD and marking his current location on the map of the scroll built into Dreamcatcher.

"I-I'll keep an eye out," Ruby chirped from the back before she switched Crimson Rose to its marksman rifle form and took aim.

"Alright," Izuku slid his own handgun out of its holster and checked the ammo which was chambered, "Ice rounds… Good enough, I suppose."

As the trio walked forwards, they went silent. After all, when Grimm were near, the last thing one wanted to do was get distracted. Whilst Pyrrha and Ruby kept their weapons pointed at the trees, Izuku kept his pointed at the ground whilst he focused on the sound which was being picked up by his sensors. Gradually, the noise that came from the right sensor was getting louder and louder which meant that the Grimm were much closer.

"15 seconds until they come out," Izuku gave a rough estimate before raising his handgun and pointing it towards where he was expecting the Grimm to come from.

Ruby's weapon rang out first as the loud gunshot reverberated off of the trees. The bullet hit its mark, a Beowolf that had leapt from the trees was struck below the eye and staggered to a stop. If that didn't kill the creature, the second round that blasted through its skull again definitely did. Unfortunately, after that Beowolf died, numerous other Grimm made themselves known. Facing a torrent of Beowolves and Ursai, the trio used their respective firearms to shoot down more of the shadowy creatures as they came closer.

Izuku, seeing that the other two were keeping most of the Grimm at bay, rushed in with his wires out. Only metres away from the closest creature, Izuku slammed a wire into a Beowolf who'd been seconds away from bursting out of the tree line and smashed them into a horde of similarly sized Beowolves. Once he was able to get a good view of the Grimm that had been hidden in the trees, he decided how he'd go about eliminating them.

Izuku didn't need much firepower; a lash or two from Black Whip could easily put down one of those Dark 1 Grimm though it may take a few more for the Dark 2 Beowolves (if there were any among the horde) and Ursai. He would have to limit how large his explosions would be inside the forest since starting a forest fire would be a poor decision so it was a better choice to rely on Black Whip for this encounter.

Thick cables struck dark flesh before bouncing off to crash into another creature. Loud booms echoed off of the trees, merging into the ones that would come after. In the cacophony of loud noises, Izuku would have missed the Ursa which was barrelling towards him. Thankfully, one of those echolocation sensors blared and indicated where the Grimm was coming from. Enhanced speed from the electric Dust allowed him to sidestep around the Ursa and trip them with a wire.

Izuku jumped on top of the fallen Grimm before slamming palm onto the dark flesh and releasing a quick blast. Whilst serving as an attack, it also pushed him up into the air and allowed him to retract all of his wires for a second before using them to penetrate the Ursa he'd tripped only seconds earlier. As soon as he felt wires striking the ground, he pushed them against the ground to suspend himself several meters in the air. He retracted his wires, only keeping two against the ground for stability whilst using his other wires to bat the Grimm away.

Izuku pulled out his handgun and started firing a few rounds into the weaker Grimm. Once he'd emptied his magazine, he switched it out for gravity rounds and returned to the activity of shooting Grimm down. As he shot down Grimm of various sizes, a flood of red petals seemed to appear and disappear. Wherever those petals went, Grimm were left dismembered and beheaded. He had been wondering when Ruby and Pyrrha would enter melee combat.

Whilst Ruby went through the weak beowolves and some of the Ursai, Pyrrha used her experience and skill to tackle the stronger Grimm which were in the horde. Her prowess with blades allowed her to put in a lot of force and weight in each swing whilst still being able to manoeuvre the blade around limbs to find and attack weak spots. When a large number of Grimm started surrounding her, she switched to Milo's rifle mode and fired countless bullets into the dark flesh.

Izuku saw that he wasn't eliminating nearly as many Grimm as Ruby was nor was he taking on any of the Grimm that Pyrrha was. Izuku decided that he should change that and thus he dropped to the ground with a large crash before rushing into combat. His wires grabbed Grimm, alive or dead, and slammed them against each other or into the ground before dragging them with him. After sprinting over to where Pyrrha was, he slammed the corpses into the Grimm that had been closing around her. He threw them against each other with his wires and only occasionally closed in to release an explosion into those that could endure the wires.

Fighting came naturally to the three of them and it wasn't surprising that, in less than a dozen minutes, the entire horde was eliminated. Ruby had taken out the lion's share of the Grimm by sprinting around with her semblance and picking Grimm off during her run. It was almost unnerving; one second the Grimm would be alive and the next they were dead. Izuku would have thought it was some sort of ghost or glitch in the matrix if not for the thousands of rose petals which littered the battlefield. It was weird to see that much red on the Grimm's bones; Grimm normally didn't bleed so the colour almost seemed out of place.

"So, Ruby. Do those petals dissipate or do they have to rot away like a normal petal?" Izuku questioned, "They'd make a mess in an enclosed space."

"If I remember correctly, they take a little over a minute to disintegrate," Ruby said before grabbing one of the petals and watching as it eventually turned to dust, "D-Do you think it'll be a problem? O-Oh my g-gosh, I never thought of that! S-Should I stop using my semblance."

"N-Not really. As long as they disintegrate, you can use it as much as you want," Izuku pointed out, "Sorry if I worried you for a second."

"O-Okay. You're lucky your super speed doesn't create stuff like mine does," she sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"Mine does cause electricity to roll off of me. If I was outside of my armour, I could have burned down the trees so don't think my speed is better," Izuku pointed out before smiling at the girl, "A-And anyway, you're faster and isn't that worth more than the extra effects are?"

"I am pretty fast… But, I can't do those cool jumps that you can do!" Ruby said before jumping in front of the boy in a burst of petals "Will you teach me after the initiation? Please! We're friends, right? And friends help each other, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess," Izuku backed away a little, almost uncomfortable by the girl's sudden place in front of him, "I'm not the best but I guess I can teach you what I know."

"Thanks, Izuku," Ruby gave the boy a grateful smile, "I knew you were a cool guy when I saw you on the airship."

"Didn't you think that the armour was empty?" Izuku asked.

"W-Well, I came closer because I thought the armour was empty but I stayed because you're a nice person. Plus, you get weapons the way I do," Ruby gave him a light punch on the shoulder, "And anyway, you were barely moving on the airship. If you didn't move when I was looking at you, I'd have thought someone left their armour in their seat."

"I-I guess that's fair," Izuku said to her before focusing on his scroll's map. He was walking in a straight line for a few seconds before he tripped on a loose branch and almost face-planted if not for his cables.

"Are you alright, Izuku? You seem distracted," Pyrrha asked, watching the boy get back to his feet.

"I'm fine, I was just looking at my scroll's map and got distracted. We're about an hour away from the ruins if I marked them correctly on the map," Izuku answered before extending a wire and wrapping it around his finger.

For a while, the trio fell into a comfortable silence. There was a simple pleasure in walking through the woods with friends at your side. Whilst they all knew that there were Grimm amongst the trees, there was an overwhelming sense of tranquillity and peace amongst nature. Izuku didn't know how to describe it in particular but it was almost as if his body was easing into a sense of being both alert and relaxed at the same time. As if his body knew there was a threat and prepared against it whilst still ensuring that fear never clogged his mind. It was odd but still pleasant.

That sense of peace had to be broken at some point and the loud shout of annoyance was what pushed the trio out of their sense of comfort and into a fully alert state of mind. Pyrrha, being the closest to the noise, decided to investigate and headed into the dense trees. Izuku and Ruby stayed a few metres behind the girl, firearms raised to ensure the redhead wasn't ambushed. The armoured boy extended two wires and kept them a short distance from Pyrrha; if something jumped at her, he could grab it and eliminate it.

"Pyrrha?" a whiny voice called out from the shadows which caused Ruby to pale.

"No, no, no…" the scythe-wielder closed her eyes and started mumbling to herself, "She probably has a partner. She's not my partner. She has a partner. I don't want to be her partner."

"I knew we'd be partners! I told you, we were fated to become the best partners Beacon would ever bring together," Weiss sauntered out of the shadows, confidence in her tone "Fate would be a fool to pick someone else for...you."

"I'm grateful that someone like you wants to be my partner but I've already-" Pyrrha began but was interrupted by Weiss.

"What are you two doing there?" Weiss pointed at the two behind Pyrrha before coming to a conclusion herself, "Ah, you two must be a pair. You should be grateful that someone like Pyrrha, my partner, has decided to help you through the initiation. Only the Gods know what would have happened if she left the two of you alone."

"W-What do you mean?" Izuku asked his own questions, "Pyrrha's my-"

"Friend, yes I know. She mentioned it before," Weiss cut him off before noticing something, "Why are the girl's eyes closed?"

"Eyes closed?" Izuku asked before looking at Ruby who was facing away from the trio, "Ruby, why are your… oh…"

"Don't tell me she's still crying over the Dust incident! I knew she was an immature child!" Weiss sneered at the girl before coughing, "But… If you're the partner of Pyrrha's friend, I'll have to deal with it. I'm… sor... sor… I... take partial responsibility for owning loose Dust that _you_ activated."

Ruby's eyes shot open and conveyed a look of confusion. Was that really going to be Weiss's apology for making Ruby blow up? Before she could stop herself, Ruby's silver eyes looked straight into Weiss's. The fifteen-year-old closed her eyes; she could just pretend that didn't happen. No one else saw her eyes so nothing happened at all.

"This again? What are you, four?" Weiss pulled Ruby by the collar and used a finger to force Ruby's eye open and made clear, direct eye contact, "Look me in the eyes. If you're this afraid of me, how will you fight Grimm?"

"I…" Ruby started before shouting at the top of her lungs, "I don't want to be your partner!"

"What… what do you mean?" Weiss asked slowly, confused by Ruby's words, "I don't want to be your partner either. The only one out of you three that's worthy of being my partner is Pyrrha. That's why she's my partner."

"Erm, Weiss…" Izuku gained the heiress's attention, "I-I'm actually Pyrrha's partner. Ruby was the one that didn't have a partner. And you made clear, irrefutable eye contact. S-So, erm, you're partners now."

"What? What! Why didn't you stop me?" she glared at Izuku accusingly before looking at Ruby, "I don't want to be with an underage dolt! I doubt she knows how to use that rifle against a rat, let alone a Grimm. She faked her transcripts and lied to get her way in here, I know it! There's no way I'll be her partner!"

"H-Hey, Ruby. Why didn't you just run away? Or, you know, use your hands to cover your eyes?" Izuku asked the girl who buried her face in her hands, a little too late for it to be worth anything, "Ruby?"

"Why didn't I think of that?" the girl cried out before diving onto Izuku and pushing her face into the metal of his armour, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Her fists slammed onto his armour, barely denting the metal but he still felt it. She continued pounding her fists onto the plating before turning away from him and looking at Weiss. It only took a second of eye contact between the two before Ruby closed her eyes and turned away. Yang, Izuku and Pyrrha were the three people she thought she should partner with. Since Izuku and Pyrrha were both partners, Ruby's last hope was Yang. And then, instead of her sister, she got Weiss, the last person she wanted to be with. She was at the top of the list of people Ruby _didn't_ want to be with!

"I'm leaving!" Weiss huffed before making her way away from the group, "This didn't happen, alright?"

"Erm, I'm not sure it works like that Weiss," Pyrrha said from the background but Weiss continued walking off to which the redhead shrugged.

"Yep, nothing at all. I'll find a partner _way_ better than you, princess!" Ruby nodded to herself and turned to Izuku, "So, do we keep- wah!"

Weiss, who had crept behind Ruby whilst her back was turned, spun the younger girl around, "What did you say?"

"I-I'll find a better partner than you… princess," Ruby replied slowly, confused by Weiss's sudden action.

"That's it. I'm going to stick with you for a little while and show you just how much better I am than the rest," Weiss announced, leaning towards the girl with a gleam in her eye, "And, once I've shown you just how bleak your prospects of a partner are, I'll leave you for a much more capable person that isn't a five-year-old trying to play the hero."

"I-I'm fifteen-" Ruby started before Weiss gave her a cold stare.

"I. Don't. Care," the heiress, seemingly proud of her little announcement, turned away and started walking in the direction the trio had come from, "The ruins are this way. I know it."

"Actually, Weiss," Pyrrha spoke up, leaving her role as the quiet onlooker, and pointed towards where the ruins were, "We spotted the closest ruins already. They're in that direction."

"Fine..." Weiss said before heading in the direction that Pyrrha gestured to, "I'll lead."

Izuku watched in confusion before slowly following the girl. This was… odd. He looked over his shoulder and saw one of the floating cameras that were used to survey students. It definitely saw the entire ordeal so he was unsure whether Weiss's plan would work. Professor Ozpin was pretty direct in saying that the first person you made eye contact with was your partner. So… there were three ways this could end up going: one, Izuku is Ruby's partner since he was the first person to make eye contact so they form a trio with Pyrrha; two, Weiss is Ruby's partner since she was the first person to make eye contact that didn't already have a partner; or three, this encounter was ignored and the next person Ruby made eye contact with was her partner. This… was complicated.

The boy stopped giving it much thought and trailed behind the heiress who was walking at a pretty fast pace. Izuku couldn't tell whether she would be a good team member or not. Not that it mattered right now, he just needed to get to the ruins, pick a relic and then let the headmaster or whoever sorted teams do their job.

* * *

"Miss Schnee and Miss Rose have partnered up which leaves us with six unmatched pairs. Nine of those students are within 200 metres of each other and the other three are only around 500 metres away from another unmatched person. I'd say we have another thirty minutes before the remaining people find a partner," Professor Glynda Goodwitch reported before sighing slowly, "Two pairs have retrieved their relics. They are returning to the cliff now."

"Okay. How would you rate Miss Rose's performance? She does have less experience than her peers," Ozpin watched his own set of cameras idly, "Do you think she's underperforming compared to her peers?"

"No. She appeared to do quite well against the Grimm in the encounter that I watched. However, she seems to act her age out of combat," Glynda continued to watch the cameras with unwavering focus, "I don't think Miss Schnee will be able to rectify that. There seems to be a conflict between the two… It appears Miss Schnee thinks she deserves better."

"Fate decides how things go, not us," Ozpin spoke to himself before speaking to Glynda, "So, we'll need to rely on the rest of their team for emotional development. If they can't overcome this smaller hurdle, it will cost them in combat."

"I share the same thoughts," Glynda finished before looking at the cameras once again.

* * *

Izuku inspected his SDS once again, after inspecting it six times in a row. There had once been a comfortable silence an hour ago but, ever since they'd found Weiss, there was constant noise. Whether it be from Weiss asking Pyrrha an abundance of questions, generally about her tournament career, or the bickering between Ruby and Weiss, there hadn't been a quiet moment since. The latter of the two never seemed to end, even in combat against Grimm. It was almost annoying (and distracting) how often Weiss would bicker about the youngest girl in the group.

He'd put that behind him. At least they'd been able to get through the fights rather well. They ended up fitting into roles for combat: Ruby swept through the weaker Grimm to prevent them from getting in lucky swipes; Pyrrha went for the harder hitters and seemed to attract the larger, stronger Grimm; Weiss seemed to have a semblance which could buff things like speed as well as elemental attacks which were used to assist Pyrrha; Izuku did defence and crowd-control by using a mix of wires, explosions and electricity to interrupt attacks aimed at the others as well as eliminate the groups of Grimm which attacked as a unit themselves.

"H-Hey, Pyrrha," Izuku started, interrupting Weiss's question about sponsors, "I forgot to ask you before but how are the laser sight and eyepiece holding up?"

"Quite well. The laser sight helps a lot when it comes to shooting as quickly as possible. The earpiece is also rather comfortable. It's almost easy to forget it's there if not for that slight red tint and the more specialised cameras," Pyrrha answered, switching between cameras as she walked, "Switching between the cameras is seamless, I'm sure it took you some time to get it right."

"I'm glad you're enjoying them. The cameras were pretty easy to set up when you compare it to trying to find space for the laser sight. From all of your tournament videos, I was able to get a grasp of where it would be ideal to put the laser sight but then I needed to factor in Miló's other forms. I had to build a few models for testing and modelling purposes but I got the result I wanted," Izuku said, happy that his gift was appreciated.

"Ah, so you made Pyrrha's eyepiece," Weiss stated, looking over her shoulder to stare at the boy's armour, "I expect some sort of creation for your transgressions against me."

"Transgressions? What do you mean?" Izuku asked, a little confused. He'd made Pyrrha something since she was his best friend but Weiss was basically a stranger.

"Letting me partner with this dolt. You could have stopped me… and you didn't. Therefore, I demand payment!" she huffed before giving a haughty laugh, "Do you think I'd let you get away without consequences?"

"I did try, you just ignored me or cut me off… Also, are you partners or not?" Izuku asked with some confusion, "Are you going through with whatever your plan was or will you accept Ruby as your partner? I don't understand you; you know that the teachers saw the whole thing through the camera system and you still try to breach those rules."

"Of course I'm going to get another partner. Unless she can perform miracles, there's no reason for me to stick with her," Weiss said bitterly, "The fact you think my standards are that low offends me. Even if Professor Ozpin himself saw the entire incident, I'm sure he'll understand my point of view. After all, what professor would hinder their student's progress by pairing them with a mere child? Not one that leads the most reputable huntsman academy on the face of Remnant."

Ruby, being the subject to more than enough snide remarks and insults, snapped, "Excuse me, _princess_. Don't think that I wanted to be your partner either. All you do is whine or complain. Even in those Grimm encounters, do you want to know who did the least? You!"

"What? I helped you all with my glyphs and fought some of the Grimm. If you want to point fingers at someone, why not point them at Izuku? What did he do?" Weiss defended, pointing an accusing finger at Izuku.

"W-What?" the armoured teen had been zoning out and ignoring the two so he was more than a little confused when his name was called out, "What did I do?"

"Exactly, what did you do?" Weiss questioned with almost as much spite as she had when talking to Ruby, "I doubt you killed any Grimm. If anyone on this team is contributing the least, it's him!"

"He did _way_ more than you did!" Ruby said back, retaliating on Izuku's behalf, "If he hadn't been there, you would have been beaten by the first group of Grimm. Honestly, I can't tell whether you were ignoring the Grimm behind you because you trusted us or if you didn't see it and were blissfully unaware."

"Of course, I noticed! I was at the top of Atlas's combat schools!" Weiss responded heatedly, "What do you have to your name? That's right, nothing! You've admitted that you're fifteen so how did you even get into Beacon?"

"I fought against Roman Torchwick and prevented a Dust robbery which gained the attention of Professor Ozpin himself," Ruby answered, only hesitating slightly, "What have you done outside of combat school?"

Weiss huffed, "I can't deal with this anymore. I thought I could at least show you your incompetence but now you're making up lies. As if someone like you could defeat Roman Torchwick. That man has been targeted by the Schnee Dust Company for years due to his Dust heists. I doubt you could stand up to him without crying for your mother. Thank you for aiding me, Pyrrha. I hope that we can assist each other in later endeavours but I will be taking my leave."

The girl walked away, leaving the confused stares of three that she'd left behind. Well, two confused and one that was mixed with relief. Ruby could only hope that she could find a better partner soon because she didn't want to partner with Weiss at all. Not now, not later, not in another universe.

"S-So… That happened," Izuku didn't know how to respond, "Are… You alright, Ruby?"

"Never better. I just hope I don't partner with Weiss. The less time I spend with her, the better," Ruby announced, saying the last part as loud as possible, "Now I can get an awesome partner. Y'know, like Yang."

"I… Don't think we'll find you another partner, Ruby," Izuku said aloud, checking his map once more for confirmation, "We're about a dozen metres from the ruins."

Ruby nodded, "It doesn't matter. As long as someone there doesn't have a partner, I'm good. I hope we end up on a team together. Do you guys know how teams will be composed?"

"From what I've heard, it depends on the relic used," Izuku answered, taking a few steps forwards and stepping out into a clearing, "Here are the ruins."

"Ooooh," Ruby said as she walked past the trees, getting a good view of the ancient building as well as a rather distinct blonde, "W-Wait. Yang!"

The girl, using her semblance, sped past the ruins and leapt into her sister's arms. The older sibling looked at the girl in confusion before placing her down with a worried look. Whatever made Ruby this worried must have been pretty bad in Yang's opinion. Or Ruby was being Ruby. It was probably the latter but Yang couldn't call herself a good sibling if she didn't at least investigate a little. She looked in the direction the younger girl had come from and spotted Izuku and Pyrrha walking forwards. Whilst the two weren't bad people by any stretch, they must have done something to warrant this reaction.

"Yang! Do you have a partner? Can I be your partner? Please!" Ruby asked, clear desperation in her voice.

"Ah… I hate to break it to you Rubes but… uh, I kind of already have a partner," Yang answered before pointing a thumb towards the relics, "Blake should be getting one of those relic thingies. Hey, Blakey, over here!"

A few seconds after Yang's call, a black-haired girl came back with a white knight piece in hand, "What is it, Yang?"

"Introductions. This is my baby sister, Ruby. She wanted me to be her partner," Yang patted her sister's head, ruffling the hair slightly, "But, she was a little too late. Why'd you stick with Izuku and Pyrrha if you needed a partner?"

"Well… I found that one crabby girl but we both agreed that we didn't want to be partners. So, yeah. Dang it, Yang, who am I meant to partner with?"

"I don't know, Rubes. I mean, I'm sure you don't want to partner with Ice Queen but if you made eye contact, you're partners now. No buts," Yang pointed out, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders, "And anyway, now you have another try at becoming friends with her. And, in my opinion, you need to make as many friends as you can, little sis."

"I guess. But I'm still looking for another partner," Ruby said, determined not to partner with Weiss, "But, if Ozpin doesn't let me switch, I'll team up with Weiss and hopefully I'm with either you or… Is it me or is the ground shaking?"

The ground was shaking. As Ruby looked around her, she saw that the small chess pieces which had been delicately placed on pedestals had been shaking with one falling off of its designated place. The piece was quickly grabbed out of the air by Pyrrha, who had been pointing to several different relics as the girl chose which piece to take. The hooded girl looked around, almost as if she was trying to find who had shaken the ground. The shaking seemed to rise in strength, almost knocking Ruby off of her feet.

Using the blade of Crescent Rose, Ruby kept herself somewhat stable. As she looked around her, she saw that everyone else was dealing with the shaking differently. Izuku dug his wires into the ground and crouched, lowering his centre of gravity to try and keep himself stable. Pyrrha seemed to be leaning with the force of the shaking, somehow keeping herself stable from those movements. Yang had simply lied down on the ground and stared into the sky, not even trying to stay on her feet. Blake seemed to have had the same thought since she did the same although instead of facing the sky, she seemed to hug the ground.

After the initial tremors, the ground stopped its light shaking and the group quickly got back to their feet with uneasy smiles. Whilst there was no reason to completely dismiss the chance that this was a naturally occurring earthquake, Beacon was located pretty far from one of Remnant's tectonic boundaries so it was unlikely. Although the others shook those thoughts off as paranoia, Izuku remembered something from the start of the initiation: there was a hill that had been shaking not too far from where the ruins had been located… are they linked? At least the shaking was gone for now.

As soon as that thought passed, the group discovered that it was not gone. No, it returned with a vengeance. Those that chose to stand up regretted it given that they were thrust to the ground hard. The ruins collapsed and the relics which sat on their pedestals were buried amidst the rubble. The shaking lasted for all of a few seconds before it stopped once more. And this time, instead of returning with more tremors, it was followed by a caw that echoed off of the trees.

"What on Remnant was that?" Weiss voiced her confusion as she stepped away from the trees she'd been hidden amongst, seemingly unaffected by the earthquake due to standing on top of thin air.

It seemed that whatever forces had held her up disappeared and she landed gracefully on the ground. She took a second to look around her and was able to spare a second to glare at Ruby with the coldest look she could give. She broke away with a huff before looking at the sky, seemingly trying to spot where the caw was coming from and, more importantly, whether it needed to be fought.

Izuku had the same thought so he extended his wires and pushed himself upwards. He'd gotten himself several metres into the air before he had a clear view of what was coming and it wasn't something Izuku wanted to face. It was an adult Nevermore which, whilst normally quite strong, was still something that the armoured teen could beat. The fact it was a Nevermore didn't scare him but something else did: its size and the amount of bone that protruded from its head and its legs. Those were two signs for the age of the Nevermore as well as a general way to estimate the Dark Rating of a Grimm.

From his limited observations, the boy could only give it a rough guess. Even still, he would confidently rank it at a high Dark 3, potentially Dark 4 (if it truly was the one that caused the very ground to tremble.) What frightened him more was that it was heading in their general direction although Izuku couldn't tell whether it had noticed him and the others at the ruins or it was a coincidence. Not giving himself a second to wait, he retracted his wires and hit the ground quite hard. The shock-absorbers that were built into Dreamcatcher took the hit rather well, enough that the boy within could voice his concerns.

"Nevermore, Dark 3 or above from my observation. It's a few kilometres west of us and more than two kilometres in the air although it seems to still be rising," Izuku stated, his voice solid and firm despite the fear gnawing at him. If there was one thing that Izuku learned in combat school, it was that giving orders and keeping everyone aware and informed of any threats was a priority and that info should be concise and clear.

"Do you think we can fight it?" Yang asked although the words came out tense, "Dark 3 is pretty strong. If it caused the shaking, we might be screwed."

"I think we should run. It's heading towards us but I don't know for sure whether it's spotted us or not," Izuku answered her question quickly before pointing south and walking forwards, "Our best bet is to head to the cliffs and lead the Nevermore to Beacon's staff. As long as we don't provoke it, we can easily return with relics and pass the initiation trial."

"Izuku, how much time do you think we have?" Pyrrha said walking behind him and keeping pace with him as he shifted to a jog and then a run, "Usually, Nevermore have an average speed of 40 mph don't they?"

"Yeah. This one is huge so it's likely a little slower. I'd say we have a few minutes," Izuku said before extending one of his wires, "Do you think you can run fast enough or should I carry you with me?"

"How much faster do you think you can go whilst carrying me?" Pyrrha asked, taking a second to look over her shoulder to check if anyone was following them before catching up to him.

"Erm, faster? I know for sure that my fastest sprint was pushing 50 mph so carrying you would put me at a mid to low 40. Should I carry you?" Izuku asked, charging the Dust in his body to its upper boundaries, pushing a half-per cent at first before pushing full percentages upwards. He'd recently plateaued around 12% but it seemed the extra Dust he'd taken today had helped since that boundary seemed to have been removed. 13% was achieved easily but Izuku was surprised to find that he could push it to 14%.

His muscles had a sudden, subtle burn to them. It wasn't exactly painful but there was a weird sort of heat that came from them. Was it from the increase in Dust percentages? Probably. Was it something that threw Izuku off for a few seconds? Yes. But did Izuku have better things to worry about than his arm being warmer than usual? Definitely. Was the sudden screech that echoed off of the trees one of them? Absolutely.

"Izuku, give me a piggyback and run," Pyrrha said, running close to the boy and staying only a metre away, "I'll provide suppressive fire if it sees us."

From the noise, it was close. And if it was close, that meant trouble. Izuku, fighting the instincts to look at the creature and slow down, grabbed Pyrrha with a wire and lifted her into the air slightly before retracting it and pulling her towards his back. She latched onto his back before switching Miló to its rifle form and switching her lens to the IR camera. The boy's temporary embarrassment due to their positioning was overruled by the need to survive and so Izuku ran. As fast as he could, he sprinted away from the sound and focused on the destination of Beacon's cliffs.

With some adjustments to the sensors, Izuku was able to tune out the sound of wind hitting the sensors and focused on the sounds around him. For a few seconds, he was only able to hear his feet hitting the ground but then he heard a slow shift and thud. Something had collapsed and there was a pretty strong chance that the Nevermore had something to do with it. Using two wires (one to grab a tree for a smooth turn and another to ensure Pyrrha didn't fall off) Izuku changed directions and headed towards the sound.

"I heard something collapse. We might need to help someone get away from the Nevermore," Izuku said loudly, over the sound of the wind he'd been tuning out.

"Alright," Pyrrha nodded to him once before turning her attention skywards, trying to track where the avian Grimm was, "The Nevermore has been spotted. I estimate an altitude of half of a kilometre, a wingspan of around 70 metres, at least 50-metre length from head to tail and I'm guessing under ten metres tall when laid flat. If it truly is a high-level Dark 3, we may need to get closer. Cliff ahead! Stop!"

Pyrrha wasn't wrong. Izuku barely spotted it at the speed he'd been going but the ground a dozen metres ahead of him disappeared. Digging his heels into the ground, the inventor tried to slow himself down slightly but that wouldn't be enough. He curled two wires into the ground metres behind before jumping with as much strength as he had as well as the help of a charged explosion. The two would have been flung skywards if not for the wires that pulled him back to the ground in an arc. The speed he'd been going at would have hurt his legs (especially his knees) so Izuku used an explosion to slow himself down and land with little force.

Pyrrha's feet touched the ground and she quickly manoeuvred herself so that she was staring at the Nevermore, who was hovering over the cliff only a few hundred metres above Izuku's head. Its strong wings were flapping towards the cliffs and, with each flap, a stream of three-metre long feathers struck the buildings below. Both Pyrrha and Izuku spent a second looking down the cliff and were surprised to see huge ruins with enormous towers and bridges that were sandwiched between two cliffs. The two used their array of cameras to look for what the actual targets of the Nevermore were. It only took seconds to spot a red blur of colour which had been moving from one part of the ruins to the other at record speed. Along with who he assumed was Ruby, Izuku spotted Yang who was using the shotgun feature on her gauntlets to return fire at the Nevermore along with a black-haired girl he'd yet to meet. He also spotted Weiss, using her semblance and doing… something with it? More surprising was the presence of Ren and Nora who were using their firearms to spray bullets (or in Nora's case, explosives) at the monstrous Grimm.

"Pyrrha, how high do you think you can throw me with your semblance?" Izuku asked charging an explosion in both hands, "We need to stop it from flapping and the distance between us and the Nevermore gives it a huge advantage. If you can throw me upwards high enough, I can use more explosions to close the distance."

"And your plan once you're there?" Pyrrha asked, slightly concerned by her partner's reckless plan, "You do have a plan, right?"

"Yeah. I'll use my high-frequency claws to cut a hole into the Grimm's flesh which I can shoot my wires through. If I can get enough wires to the Nevermore's coracoid and keel bones, I'm pretty sure I can crush or at least dislocate or damage them and disable its wings. After all, the Nevermore skeletons we saw in Signal had pretty thin, weak bones compared to the Ursa Major's bones or even the Beowolf's bones," Izuku explained his plan before remembering something and extracting his array of grenades from their places, "You might need these. I think our best bet is to bury it with these ruins. You'll probably need these. Do you think you can do it?"

"I think the highest I can throw you would be around twenty metres and that might drain my Aura due to semblance overuse," Pyrrha shook her head and took the grenades, "My tournament career prioritised small, subtle uses instead of large ones, something I'll need to rectify in Beacon. I'll take the grenades and distract it along with everyone in the ruins whilst you attack. Good luck, Izuku!"

With her parting words, Pyrrha lept from the cliff they'd been standing on and landed on one of the towers below. Seeing that she started moving after the impact, Izuku assumed that she was alright so he could focus on his plan. Using his wires, he raised himself as high as he could before looking at where the Nevermore was. This was going to take more than one blast but, lucky for Izuku, he had an 89% full canister which was more than enough for him. Loosening his wires in the ground, Izuku let loose the explosion.

The world sped up in a near-instant as he was thrust upwards into the air. During this window of pure speed, Izuku retracted his wires before extending one out. Seeing that he was slowing down, he let loose another explosion and followed that up with another and yet another. As he closed the distance with each explosion, he extended that single wire to full length. Once he was close enough, he could grab its leg and retract the wire to get him onto the giant Grimm.

A sensor blared at him, signalling that something was coming towards him. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a few stray feathers aimed at him which might be able to dent Dreamcatcher. Not wanting to see if that was possible, he smacked the feathers out of the air with one of his other wires. More feathers were sent his way and each of them were struck out of the air like the first. He was getting closer and a final blast got him close enough to make the final push. Two wires were sent towards the Nevermore's left leg, quickly curling and tightening around the limb. Despite the attempts to kick the wires off, they stayed firm and didn't move an inch which gave Izuku the courage to retract the wires.

He landed on the Nevermore's leg pretty hard but it wasn't enough to stop him from continuing his plans. As long as the wires were, there wasn't a chance that Izuku could start attacking the bones and muscles from here but he could test the Dark level of the Nevermore pretty easily. Keeping the two wires on the leg for stability, Izuku extended the third wire and stabbed it into an unprotected part of the Nevermore. He was able to pass through the feathers with ease and dug into the flesh despite a lot of resistance. He was barely able to make it a centimetre past the skin before it stopped in its tracks and wouldn't dig in any further no matter how hard Izuku tried.

That was pretty bad but it meant that the creature wasn't invincible. After all, if his wires could breach the skin of the creature, his high-frequency claws could as well. His plan shifted from attacking the flight bones with his wires to something slightly different. If Izuku was able to jab a wire in, he could easily cut open a part of the Nevermore's skin and blow it apart from the inside with explosions. That relied on the bones being weak enough to be broken by some explosions which, whilst able to atomise various metals and even weaker Grimm, weren't tested to fight against a Dark 3 Grimm's bones. At least, he hoped to whatever God was supposed to be up there that it was a Dark 3. If this was a Dark 4, he had no chance.

Stopping that train of thought, Izuku asked himself a few questions. One of which was how he could get there without the Grimm noticing and Izuku didn't really know. If he used explosions, he'd guarantee that the Nevermore knew where he was and, at this range, he was sure he could be slapped out of the air with one of those massive wings. Black Whip might be his best bet but that was still risky since, even with full force, the wires couldn't go much further than a centimetre or two and that meant a pretty loose grip. Perhaps he could also grip the feathers but those were loosely connected to the Nevermore anyways so perhaps not.

There was also the question of where he'd attack from: the Nevermore's front, back or by climbing onto the actual wing? Attacking from the back would be safer but it would be harder to get into position and he may not be able to reach the keel (if he was going to attack them at all) whilst attacking from the front would be more dangerous but he was sure that he'd have access to the wings. Then he had to consider what route he would take. He had three options: climbing up the Nevermore's legs and either climbing up the Grimm's front, which was a plan that was barely safer than a suicide mission; climbing up the side and climbing onto the wings, which were still moving mind you; or trying to climb from the tail which, depending on the specific part, was either as still as a statue or moving with the wind.

Perhaps using Blast Bracers wasn't a bad idea; he'd already been spotted on his way up so trying to stay undetected was a fool's errand. He'd rely on them as a back up if he slipped but he needed to start moving soon. A look down at the ruins told him that, despite the constant rain of bullets that the huntsmen-in-training were sending the Nevermore's way, the Grimm was still unfazed and still sending its stream of feathers down to the ground. Swallowing whatever fear he had with the reassurance that he still had his Blast Bracers (which still had a large amount of fuel to spare) Izuku began using his wires to climb up the side of the Nevermore, hoping to get himself on top of the left wing.

Once tuning his sensors once again to help him focus, Izuku jabbed his wires into the Nevermore and used them to climb his way upwards. He barely moved upwards with each step but he was quickly progressing up the bird's side. Speed increasing each second, he knew that, if he took too long, there was a high chance that those below would die: their main strength came from melee attacks and the creature was keeping its distance. That scuttle upwards soon turned into scuttle sidewards as Izuku moved from underneath the left wing to the side of the wing. And, a final scuttle to get him slightly above the wing later, he dropped onto the moving wing of the Nevermore.

Quickly stabbing his wires into the Nevermore for stability on the sloped surface, he took the time to take a cursory glance of the ruins below. It was to the Grimm's right side so Izuku was glad he could get to work on the wing he'd landed on. After all, if he broke the Nevermore's left-wing, the only direction it could go was right and thus he could get it into the ruins. Extending the high-frequency claws included in Dreamcatcher, Izuku activated the high-frequency feature and swiped the blades through the wings. He opened up a small slit, barely enough for his two hands to fit inside, before raising a flap of the Grimm's skin and shoving his hands into the tight hole

The shadowy flesh underneath stopped his fingers from going very far but Izuku had expected that and simply wanted to test whether he had any options other than Blast Bracers. Whilst charging an explosion in both hands, the boy cut at the flesh with the claws before releasing his explosion. In an instant, he was thrown off of the Nevermore due to the recoil of the explosion; his already shaky grip was quickly overcome by the force of the explosion. Izuku didn't know exactly how much damage he'd done but the harrowing screech of the Nevermore and the stream of shadowy flesh that followed him told him it was more than a scratch. A final glance at the wing told Izuku that it had been lowered to a nearly horizontal position instead of the angle it had been at prior.

Whilst in the air, Izuku used another explosion to stop his momentum before following up with another few explosions to land on the Nevermore's wing once more. Less than a minute later, Izuku was back at the spot where he'd released the explosion and was able to take a second to look at his handiwork. The tiny slit had been ripped wide open and what had once been a small pocket of space was now a large cavity that Izuku could have comfortably stood inside had he been several years younger. Of course, the size didn't stop Izuku from diving into the hole so he could directly start breaking the Nevermore's wing bones.

He fell in head headfirst in a squat, heel barely underneath the flap of skin. Before charging a second explosion, he used his wires and jabbed the flesh that was likely covering the bones. The wire barely made it half of a centimetre in before Izuku felt hard resistance. That was promising; he may only be an explosion away from getting to the bones and, once those bones were broken, the fight would be much easier.

Izuku did the same as he had last time: release a fully charged blast into the Nevermore and be thrown off the enormous Grimm. Of course, this time, he wasn't thrown nearly as far as he had before due to the larger size of the hole and thus a lack of pressure to push him off. Despite that, he still needed an explosion to correct himself midair and another so that he could fall back into the even larger hole in the Nevermore's wing. After taking a few seconds to breathe (and to listen to the Nevermore's glorious cries of pain) Izuku looked at where he'd detonated an explosion and was thankful to see a cracked floor of white. He'd finally reached the bone and could get to work.

Using his high-frequency claws, he opened up small slits into the bone (amongst the spinning cracks from the previous explosion) which might help the explosions do some extra damage. Once he'd carved some extra incisions into the milky white surface, the armoured boy dug all of his wires into the shadowy walls around him. The wires were met with strong resistance but Izuku was able to get a decent grip.

Secured in place, Izuku lowered his percentage down to 0%, allowing his camera to feed off of the backup battery instead of his electricity. He was exhausted and the altitude wasn't helping. Likely a kilometre and a bit above the ground, the boy wasn't surprised he was feeling weaker. His Dust abilities were based around his circulatory system and high altitudes did affect breathing and thus his Dust to some extent.

He was still pretty tired from the long Grimm fights. Most of his attacks used some form of electricity to power except for his handgun, which he'd use now and then. He lifted his handgun from its holster and switched to Gravity Dust ammo before pressing the gun against the Nevermore's bone. A pull of the trigger later and Izuku was surprised to hear some sort of rumbling noise coming from the Nevermore. He moved the firearm away from the wall of bone and was surprised to see a sizable hole in the surface; he hadn't expected his handgun to do that much damage but he wouldn't complain. Of course, that was only one bullet and Izuku did have a full magazine. He wouldn't use all of his rounds but that didn't mean he wouldn't use just a few more. He fired a second round into that hole and then a third, resulting in a somewhat pained screech from the bird and caused enough damage for Izuku to say his break wasn't a waste of time.

Activating his Dust once again, Izuku looked at the floor of bone before looking above him. A single pair of fully charged explosions may not be enough and Izuku was getting weaker by the minute which meant he may not be able to get back into this hole more times. He needed a larger explosion and Izuku got to work on making that explosion. First, he'd loosened all of his wires and climbed out of the hole before turning around and poking only his armoured hands underneath the torn skin. Afterwards, he disabled the flamethrower that detonated the nitroglycerin and charged an explosion. As expected, the explosive substance filled up the mini-canisters that were just beneath his palm before he released them. The palm canisters were emptied near-instantly and the liquid was sprayed onto the floor, undetonated due to the lack of heat. He repeated the process multiple times until he felt that he'd used enough.

45%. That was what was left of his tank once he was done. He hadn't been looking at his HUD when he'd been trying to get onto the Nevermore or when he'd breached the Nevermore's wing but he knew that by the time he started spraying at the bone, it was around the 75% mark. He'd just sprayed over 30% of his main tank to make a single explosion and that was impressive when taking into account how large that tank was. It was around 5x larger than the initial model's and his current formula was quite a bit more effective than the original formula. If this didn't break the Nevermore's wing, Izuku might give up completely and try it on the neck of the Nevermore before returning to the ground… Actually, why didn't he do that first? No, wait, the skull would be the hardest bone to break and the spine would also be rather hard to break from the back (whilst attacking from the front would be next to impossible due to the recoil of each blast) so he made the right call.

He'd already sprayed 30% of his nitroglycerin tank, it wouldn't feel right to just give up and move on just yet. He took a step back from the hole, taking a second to turn off his sensors (lest he loses his hearing) before reactivating the flamethrower in Dreamcatcher and charging one final explosion in his right hand and detonating it right in the hole. A split second later, he was thrust into the air, thrown higher than he'd ever gone before. His cameras only caught white, the energy from the explosion overwhelming his cameras, and leaving him with only his HUD, the white background and pure silence.

It took a few seconds before the image changed to a torrent of flames which seemed to become more and more distant every moment. He reactivated his sensors again and was able to hear the loud, terrifying cries of the Nevermore. Turning his head to the noise, Izuku was surprised to see the giant Grimm plummeting to the ground, not dead by any means but unable to fly. He had succeeded and that left him frozen in place from both shock and awe. That inaction would get him killed and Izuku knew that but it took him more time than he'd like to admit to figure that out and to start planning how he would survive.

First of all, he noticed that he was mostly sent skywards and was still above the ruins and the Emerald Forest so he wouldn't need to worry too much about where he was going to land. That meant he needed to focus on controlling his fall and Izuku had done that numerous times today. He let out a few blasts behind him, slowing him down somewhat but not stopping his ascent. To do that, he had to use quite a few more explosions before he finally reached the apex of his height and started falling to the ground. The fall started somewhat slow before he started picking up momentum and needed to control that speed with an occasional explosion.

He controlled his fall for what felt like minutes before he was finally close enough to the cliffs that the idea of completely stopping came up. The Nevermore had crashed into the edge of the ruins that Pyrrha and the rest had been fighting from before it was buried under the rubble of falling bridges and buildings (some of which landed on the Nevermore's working wing and kept it grounded.) Izuku was glad to say that his grenades had helped in getting the ruins to crash onto the Nevermore although he would admit that Nora's hammer and grenade launcher combo did most of the heavy lifting.

He shook his head and focused on stopping himself. Whilst he detonated explosions underneath him to stop his fall from going too fast, he also prepped some wires to be stabbed into the cliffs below him. Only 50 metres away from the top of the cliff, Izuku only had to wait half of a dozen seconds before he enacted his plan and jabbed four wires into the cliff. Of course, if he left the wire tense in the cliff, it would be a rather sudden, somewhat painful stop so he continued to extend the wires as he fell. Using that extra time, Izuku reached a comfortable stop with the help of a final explosion before he retracted his wire and pulled himself close to the top of the cliff.

A few moments of climbing later, the armoured teen reached the actual top of the cliff. Once there, he sat down and looked at the ruins below him, watching the people there as they started their trek back to Beacon. Whilst the Grimm was still alive, there wasn't a reason to waste resources on killing it. Izuku was barely able to impale Black Whip into the Nevermore despite jabbing it at full-speed so he was unsure how the other bladed weapons would do. Although, Nora's hammer may do some substantial damage, especially if she struck from this height. Then again, that wouldn't kill it and she'd be stuck down there with an enormous Dark Three and Izuku was unsure whether the loss of a wing would be enough for the hammer-wielder to be able to solo the Nevermore.

He decided to stay in his spot just a little longer, knowing that Pyrrha had already selected a relic and thus the boy only had to return to Beacon to put the initiation behind him. Therefore, he contented himself to watch the Nevermore below him; still screeching at the top of its lungs yet not really scaring anyone. Beacon's staff would inevitably be sent to deal with the Nevermore because of its enormous size and strength. He knew Grimm had some regenerative properties, especially when in the dark, so he was sure that the Nevermore would be taken care of sooner or later.

Seeing no point in staying in his spot any longer, the boy got up and started walking towards where Pyrrha was. It wasn't like he had anything else to do and the Nevermore only entertained him for so long before he decided to finish his task. His Dust levels remained at the bare minimum needed to keep the suit operational and thus the walk was somewhat slow. Still, it let him wonder about what team he would get. From what he'd heard, the relic that was chosen for the initiation always had some link to the composition of a team but, since the relics change from one initiation to the next, there was no way for Izuku to know exactly how it worked this time. It wasn't like he had much to go off anyways, he still had no idea what relic Pyrrha had chosen nor what relic any of his friends had chosen.

Closing his eyes and walking at a comfortable pace, Izuku was content that he and his partner had finished Beacon's Initiation. He, a boy who had been born Auraless, had made it into Beacon successfully and that was something which many had claimed would be impossible. Because of that, he was happy to live in the here and now. As to what may happen in the future, it didn't really matter. He'd find out at some point and that was enough for him.


	7. Team IRNN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter. Probably should have posted this earlier but hey, what can you do about it? Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter since I enjoyed writing all of the character dynamics.
> 
> Also, I'd been idly wondering whether or not I should change Blake's second name. Why? If she was meant to pretend to be a human and hide from the White Fang, using the same last name she had before (specifically the last name that was shared with the renowned original leader of the White Fang) is an especially dumb move on her part. I thought it over and decided that perhaps the books don't mention Ghira's second name and he's just 'Ghira.' A bit of a stretch but nothing huge. On the other hand, what about hiding from the White Fang? Well, a small plot bunny appeared in my head which may take place a little later. Why did I mention this? I'm stalling, that's why. Alright, to the actual chapter!

Izuku and Pyrrha walked past the Beacon's fountain, both of them releasing a breath they didn't know they'd been holding. The initiation was complete and droves of students were entering the main building to give in their relic and the two were going to follow suit. The walk had been rather quiet once Izuku rejoined Pyrrha and the two walked the last stretch back to Beacon with a comfortable silence and occasional small talk.

"So…" Izuku started, a question on his mind as he twiddled one of Black Whip's wires between his fingers, "Which chess piece did we get?"

Pyrrha grabbed the small polished relic out of a pocket, lightly throwing it up in the air before catching it, "White rook. I have to say, they are rather nice to look at. They'd make fine ornaments, don't you think?"

"I guess so," Izuku shrugged a little, "I don't really have an idea of what makes a good ornament and what doesn't. But, they do look good."

"Neither do I, Izuku. What's that saying, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'?" she slipped the piece back into her pocket, "If it looks nice enough, I guess it's a good ornament."

"What do you think Beacon does with the relics?" Izuku pondered aloud, "They use different relics from one year to the next so they won't be reused for a few years at the least."

"Your guess is as good as mine, Izuku," the girl gestured forwards as they were only metres away from the entrance, "Ready to go, partner?"

"As good as I'll ever be," he said as the two walked into the building, only making it a few metres before they were stopped by Professor Goodwitch.

"Your relics, please," she stated before holding out a hand which, only moments later, held a black rook piece, "Black rook, Mr Midoriya and Ms Nikos. You can continue to hang around here until Professor Ozpin finalises the teams."

The two did as told and were able to blend into the crowd of 17-year-olds with ease. As the two continued to walk around, they searched for a familiar face before they spotted a short girl with silver eyes. Ruby seemed to be lost in the crowd, seemingly lost as she looked around aimlessly. Before long, she noticed the two and used her semblance to close the distance.

"Izuku, you were right!" Ruby said, excited as usual and yet utterly disappointed, "I got paired with Weiss. Why is the world so cruel, Izuku? Why?"

"How did Weiss take it? I'm sure she's equally dismayed," Pyrrha said, giving the younger teen a pat on the back.

"I haven't seen her since I came here. When I came into Beacon with my own relic, Professor Goodwitch took it from me and told me that Weiss already came in with her own. Apparently, they use more relics than necessary for these situations so I didn't get in trouble," Ruby said in a rush before looking at Izuku, eyes dead serious, "Also, Izuku… Did you actually blow that Nevermore's wings off with you still on it? When I saw the explosion, I was worried that you did that self-sacrificial attack thing those heroes do in stories. I know I said you're a generic lawful-good character but you don't need to go fill all of the tropes."

"W-What?" Izuku stuttered out, "You thought I sacrificed myself? It was just a big explosion."

" _Just a big explosion_ ," Ruby mimicked Izuku's voice before waving her arms around, "Dude, that wasn't just an explosion. I don't know what you did to that Nevermore's wings but they were _destroyed_! Shards of the bone rained down on us like some unholy rain of destruction... that doesn't happen from a _big explosion_!"

"That was what it-," Izuku started before Ruby seemingly switched personalities and interrupted him.

"That was _so_ cool though! How you used your explosions to fly up into the air and then you blew up the wings was _awesome_!" Ruby seemed to fangirl over the armoured boy, who was trying desperately to keep still, "Us guys in the ruins had no idea how we'd actually start fighting since our guns weren't doing much. Weiss had thought up some plan to fling me towards the Nevermore but she wasn't sure she'd be able to get me there so we scrapped that idea. She also thought about using her 'glyphs', which are her semblance if you were confused, to give me a platform so I can run to the Nevermore but, by the time Weiss was ready, you'd already started attacking the wings. If we stopped the suppressive fire at that point, the Nevermore could have focused its efforts on getting rid of you."

"Thanks for that, by the way. Aside from the flapping of the wings, I didn't have to deal with much else. I'm sure that if you guys weren't there, I'd have been crushed between the Nevermore and the cliffs," Izuku chuckled morbidly, "And hey, if I can do it, I'm sure you can as well."

"Ah, humble and thinks low of themselves," Ruby noted, placing an arm on Izuku's shoulder, "You're the full protagonist package, aren't you? If you're the protagonist, d'ya think I could be your sidekick? Maybe I can be part of the main cast. Ooh, if we're part of the same team, I might be a deuteragonist or tritagonist... Actually, tritagonists are usually the ones who cause all of the problems. Erm, what role could I take?"

Ruby started to murmur to herself, giving Izuku a rather clear image of what he was like when he was muttering, "Is this what I do sometimes? I have to admit, it's kinda weird if I'm being honest."

"I find it an adorable little quirk of yours," Pyrrha said looking between the two, "Although, if I'm being honest, your muttering can almost seem sinister. Ruby's is much tamer."

"S-Sinister?" Izuku blurted out, blushing from embarrassment "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever watched a show where the main villain has an internal monologue? It's… kinda like that but it almost seems like your plotting how to conquer the world," Pyrrha admitted before giving Izuku a side hug, "Just because it may be sinister sometimes doesn't stop it from being adorable though. You know, it's your little quirk that makes you Izuku Midoriya, genius mad scientist!"

Blushing even more now, Izuku was barely able to form words, "M-Mad s-scientist?"

"Lancer! I'll be your lancer or the supportive leader!" Ruby called out, pulling both Izuku and Pyrrha out of their conversation, "O-Oh, am I disturbing something? I kinda got lost in thought."

"I-It's fine, what's a lancer?" Izuku said, getting over his embarrassment on being called a quote-unquote 'mad scientist.'

"You don't know what a lancer is? Have you never read a story ever?" she almost seemed offended before reigning it in and sighing, "Maybe I am a little too into stories for my own good. A lancer is a foil to the protagonist. If you're the cool, calm, mature protagonist, I'm the hot-headed, wild, immature lancer… That... doesn't sound so good now that I say it aloud."

"I mean, it doesn't have to be a story with protagonists and the like, does it?" Izuku suggested before Ruby immediately shut him down.

"What do you mean not a story? Did you see that Nevermore when you blew it up? That's easily the start of some long epic about a hero's adventures and misadventures," Ruby said, almost hurt.

"Ruby!" Yang said as she walked up towards the trio, "I swear, I turn around for a second to talk to Blake and you disappear into the crowd."

"It's not my fault! I just got swept away by the crowd of people," the fifteen-year-old defended herself before pouting, "And anyway, I needed to go find Weiss. Since Professor Goodwitch told me my relic is invalid, I have to find out which relic Weiss picked."

"You'll find out soon enough, you're fine," Yang reassured her little sister before looking around, "Blake, you there?"

"Hm," the girl made a small noise from behind the blonde before raising a hand, "Yeah, I'm still here. Nice to meet you."

With those words, she seemed to fall silent and likely would have stayed in her self-imposed silence if not for Yang, "Hey, c'mon now. You have to say _something_ to them."

"I did," Blake finished before yawning and pulling out a book, eyes scanning the page number as she flicked through the book until she found the page she was on.

"C'mon, Blakey. You need to say more than just greetings. How else are you going to make friends?" the blonde said before sighing dramatically, "Ah well, you're just being a grouchy kitty, aren't you Blakey? Hey, don't mind her."

"It's fine," Ruby said before a thought came to her head, "Oh wait, Izuku. This is a perfect example of a lancer. See, if Yang was the protagonist of a book, Blake would be her lancer or her foil. See, cos Yang is hot-tempered, extroverted and in-your-face whilst Blake is more calm, introverted and blends into the background… No offence to either of you."

"No offence taken… So, you read a few stories?" Blake asked with a slight curl of her lips.

"More than I can count. I guess you could call me an avid reader," Ruby said shyly, giving the black-haired girl her own awkward, small smile.

"Ooh, another friend in the bag, Rubes!" Yang embraced the girl in a tight hug, "Seems like you're a natural at making friends. Pretty soon, you won't need me anymore!"

"Yang..." the red-hooded reaper whined, voice muffled by her sister's chest.

"Ruby," the blonde brawler replied back, messing her sister's hair up with her fist.

"Nora!" the orange-haired berserker finished, running up to the other two.

"Nora… They were having a moment," Ren gave an exasperated sigh, "Sorry about that."

"Heh, Izuku, you did the big explosion, right?" Nora seemed to ignore her own intrusion and rushed straight to Izuku, "You didn't tell me you could do that! If you don't join my team, I'm going to feel all sorts of betrayal. Oh, and your electric Dust came in handy, ya know! Me and Ren had to fight a Deathstalker and we were barely able to win. Without your electric Dust, I might have had to consume Dust on the field and that never ends well, ask Renny."

"Er, what?" Izuku questioned, more confused than anything, "What's wrong with taking Dust whilst in combat?"

"Nora has the tendency to take more than she needs. If she takes too much, she gets a little destructive," Ren stated matter-of-factly, "The influx of energy has an effect on Nora's rationality and logical thinking which leads to a more reckless fighting style which means that, when used without moderation and time to make sure a conservative but useful amount is taken, it may lead to less-than-desirable results."

"Okay…" Izuku scratched the back of his head, "I'm glad I helped, I guess."

"So, which chess piece did you take?" Nora looked at the boy with glee, "I chose the queen of the castle!"

"Actually, it was the white rook," Ren said, correcting his partner, "Since the tower looks like a crown, she's been smitten with it."

"Oh, we also took a white rook," Pyrrha gave the other two a smile, "Do you think that means we're a team?"

Nora brightened up at that, "We're a team? Of course, we're a team! You, me, Ren and Izuku are going to make the best team ever made.

"Nu-uh!" Ruby interjected, finally having freed herself from Yang, "Me… Weiss… and whoever we get paired with are going to be the best team ever. I'll show you… whenever I find Weiss. Speaking of, can I have some help, Izuku?"

"Erm, sure," Izuku said before lifting himself up with Black Whip before he messed with his contrast settings. With that done, it was easy to spot the blob of white amongst the rest of the colours and, after shifting his cameras to their default settings, he was able to confirm that said white blob was Weiss.

"Did you see her?" Ruby asked, a little desperate, "I need to sort out our partnership sooner rather than later. Hey, Pyrrha, do you mind coming with me as well? Weiss respects you more than she respects me so your presence will probably help."

"She's over there," Izuku said, landing on the ground and poking a finger at Weiss's general direction.

"Alright, thanks for that. Izuku!" Ruby chirped before looking at Pyrrha, "So, erm, are you coming. You don't have to if you don't want to but, erm-"

"I'll come with," the red-head gave a reassuring smile to the young girl, "Let's get your partner back."

With that, the two left and the remaining five (Izuku, Ren, Nora, Yang and Blake) decided to start a little conversation. Most of it was about the fight with the Giant Nevermore, much to Izuku's embarrassment. It was kinda weird to have all of this praise in-person. Sure, after the I-Island incident, there were more than a few news articles which praised the 'Hero of I-Island' but that praise wasn't directly to Izuku. This time, they were praising Izuku Midoriya, the Auraless boy who fought a big bird and won… Now that he thought about it, it didn't seem that impressive when said like that.

"So, Izuku, buddy," Yang gave the boy a side hug, "I saw those explosions coming from your hands. Gotta say me likey. Wouldn't mind getting a pair myself?"

"I thought you were more of a hand-to-hand fighter? Whilst Dreamcatcher's explosions are useful in combat, they don't work well with conventional hand-to-hand," Izuku answered, only to be pulled closer to Yang and, in turn, her… assets.

"Hey, explosions are great for hand-to-hand!" Yang defended, using her free hand to show off her gauntlets, "These puppies right here punch hard and bang even harder!"

"What, your shotgun attachment things?" Izuku loosely remembered Ruby mentioning that Yang's gauntlets were also shotguns.

"Yeah, those shotguns attach things. They bang hard. But yours… yours bang even harder," Yang grinned, "Combine the two together, and we'll make loud _yangs_!"

"What…" Izuku said, which led to him being gently pushed away from the blonde.

"Dude, after all that set-up… all I get is a what," the blonde seemed to be disheartened, "What about you, Blake? You thought it was good, right?"

"A little worse than the rest of your puns," answered the huntress-in-training, "but considering the rest of your jokes. Perhaps, that isn't so bad."

"What, you like my puns?" the brawler was about to get excited only to have her hopes thrown away.

"No, they were all abhorrent. This was just worse in every conceivable way," the toneless voice only added insult to injury,

"Oh, Blakey, why?" Yang looked away from the group dramatically, "It appears my humour isn't appreciated in this cold, cruel world; my talents are utterly wasted."

"I mean, it wasn't the worst pun, I've heard-" Izuku tried to console the girl.

"It completely went over your head! If I didn't tell you it was a pun, can you honestly say you'd have understood the sheer effort I put in!" the girl's offended tone was so melodramatic that Izuku was unsure whether she was acting or not.

Izuku just sighed and gave up. He decided to continue one of his favourite idle activities and arced his finger together, closing his eyes whilst doing so. Once they were in a perfect position, he sent electricity from one hand to the other through his fingertips. The electricity shifted from one hand to the other, in and out, in and out. As he continued the cycle, he ramped up the intensity of the electricity to test both his output strength and his ability to absorb it back in. In and out, in and out… why didn't he feel it go back in?

"Woah!" he heard Nora's chippier-than-usual voice ring out, "That felt good, Izuku! Do it again! Do it!"

"Nora, did you absorb my electricity? I… Wait, are you okay? That was a lot of-"

"Just! Do! It!" the girl grabbed the armoured teen by the shoulders and shook him roughly, "Get that electricity and shove it in me!"

"Alright, that's enough," Ren slipped a palm onto the back of Nora's and seemed to pulse a wave of Aura into her.

"Hm, what do you mean, Renny? I just want more of Izuku's electricity. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" she gave an innocent smile to both Ren and Izuku.

"Not inherently. But, what have I said about phrasing?" the monk-like boy gently guided Nora's palms off of Izuku's shoulders, much to the inventor's relief.

"That my words can be misunderstood, Renny."

"Exactly."

"Woah there, Izuku. Close contact with two ladies and one wants you to shove 'something' into them," Yang gave the boy a wink, "Who knows, one day you might _steel_ someone's heart. Hell, perhaps your track record will be completely _stainless_."

"... Why did you emphasise stainless?" Izuku asked, confusion overriding the usual set of embarrassment that would come when someone even suggested him being in a mildly suggestive situation.

"Ugh, another one went over your head? Blake, what about you?"

"Better than the last," the black-haired girl spoke up, "At least it worked with him being in a metal suit of armour."

"Yeah, yeah, explain the pun, why don't ya!" Yang looked rather annoyed before noticing something, "So, are we going to do something about the sparky hammer girl? I think she's going to jump our resident robo-boy as soon as you stop whatever spell you used on her."

"Yes, my semblance can't do anything about her behaviour after it's been lifted. Can you absorb the electricity back into you?" Ren kept a firm grip on Nora, who was still staring rather intently at Izuku.

"Y-Yeah, I can," Izuku answered as he placed two fingers onto Nora's forehead and tried to suck in whatever electricity he could. As he felt the sudden influx of electricity rush into him, he quickly stopped absorbing the electricity so he wouldn't accidentally interrupt nerve signals and the like with his intrusion.

Yawning, Nora seemed to be much less energetic than she was normally, "That felt… nice."

Ren lifted his palm from Nora cancelling whatever effects his semblance had on her. As soon as his semblance's effects were lifted, the girl seemed to perk up. In an instant, she seemed to straighten up, standing with energy and vigour. Smiling, she wrapped an arm around Ren, the words she was about to say written on her face.

"Not doing it again," Ren said although he stopped when he saw Nora sulk a little, "Alright, fine. I'll use my semblance on you later, can you just… stay still until then?"

"No promises, Renny!"

"What is your semblance? I-If you don't mind me asking, of course," Izuku asked, curious about what exactly Ren's semblance did to Nora.

"My semblance has a calming effect, restricts all emotions whilst being used. It gives those under its effects a moment to make logical, rational decisions instead of letting emotions get the better of them," the teen explained, "Of course, when lifted, my semblance lets all emotions return. That usually means a second or so of feeling all of your emotions be reactivated. In most cases, it doesn't do much but Nora seems to enjoy it so she occasionally asks me to use my semblance on her."

"Woah, that's a cool semblance!" a squeaky voice called out, "That must be useful for problems when civilians are involved."

"Ruby, you're back!" Yang said, recognising the voice easily, "Where's the ice queen? Ice… Weiss… Ice queen... Weiss queen. Yes…"

"No! No more puns!" a red blur jumped full force into the blonde and yet the brawler barely moved an inch, "And, Weiss told me that she was going to ask Professor Ozpin if she could change partners. I don't know how that will go but I'm pretty sure we're stuck together whether we like it or not. She did say which relic she chose though. It was the-"

"May I have your attention?" Ozpin's calm voice called out from the front of the room, instantly causing the room to go quiet, "Yesterday, I told you all to take the first step. Today, you completed Beacon's Initiation and have started on the long path of being a Huntsman. I told you all that, during the initiation, you will find your partner, who will stick by you during the entirety of your time at Beacon. Of course, I'm sure many of you tried to find a connection between how you found your partner and how teams will be formed."

"Ooh, do you think he's going to tell us our teams?" Nora whispered to the rest of the group.

"So, it is time to put you all into teams. When I call your name, may you please come to the front?" Ozpin said, giving a rather calm smile as he raised a scroll up and the screen above him showed four the letters AMLW, "Perry Winkle, Amanda Autumn, Verm Muse and Levi Lye… The four of you will form the team Amberglow which will be led by Miss Autumn..."

Izuku watched as more students were called up and it made him feel ever so slightly queasy. He'd forgotten a vital aspect of Huntsman teams: there was always a leader. He didn't mind all too much if he wasn't the leader; he genuinely preferred it if he wasn't anywhere close to being in a leadership role. If there was anything Izuku learnt from I-Island's group projects is that whilst he could carry his weight (and then some in a few projects) he was not the right person to designate and command who did what. The fact of the matter was that Izuku Midoriya was not leader material and that suited him just fine.

In fact, he knew before he called out that, whatever team he was put in, the team leader was going to either be Pyrrha or one of the other teammates (potentially Ren and Nora if it depended on getting the same piece.) Pyrrha would make the perfect leader, she was kind, strong, resilient and, most importantly, had good people skills. She could lead people and help them do things together, a feat that Izuku wasn't sure he could replicate.

As he heard his name being called out, time slowed down as if it wanted to spike the tension he felt. His name was first… that was good. From what he'd noticed, a majority of the team leaders were either the second or third student called up although there were more than a few exceptions. There was no point in delaying so Izuku took his steps toward the front, earning more than a few stares due to his unique armour. As he walked, he heard Pyrrha's name be called out. That was expected; she was his partner after all so she was guaranteed to be in the same team as him. Next would be his future team members, whoever they.

When Lie Ren was called out, Izuku let loose a breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Perhaps it was the fact that he already knew both Ren and Nora from yesterday or the fact that Nora had been so excited about the four of them (Izuku, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora herself) being a team but it felt right. Of course, he didn't need to hear Nora's name to know that she would be part of the team (she was Ren's partner and partners weren't split during the creation of teams.)

Now the question of being a leader arose. Who would make a good leader out of the four of them? Actually, make that 3, he'd already counted himself out so there wasn't a chance in hell that he'd be included. The choice between Pyrrha, Nora and Ren was a rather difficult one since they all brought such different things to the metaphorical table. Pyrrha was great at combat and she was kind enough to help others along the way, including her team. She'd be the best leader if not for the fact that most of her combat experience came down to one-on-one scenarios which meant she didn't have experience fighting as a group and that meant she may not be as good at communicating in combat as the other two might be.

One attribute that both Ren and Nora shared was their experience with grouped combat or, more specifically, combat with a partner. If even half of the tales that Nora told yesterday were true, the two were experienced in fighting and communicating with mounting pressure. If some of the taller tales that she told were true, Ren could be relied on to keep battle formations organised when the need arises (although that wasn't all too often when only two people were fighting.) As well as that, they were great at talking to people (Nora especially) so there was no doubt in his mind that those two would make excellent leaders as well.

At the end of the day, the choice may not matter all too much. Even if they weren't the leader, those three could bring everything they have to the table and still be beneficial. Ozpin likely spent a long time thinking about which one of those three should be the team leader. As the quartet finally reached the front, they had all eyes on them. Well, that likely wasn't true but it sure felt like it. The feeling reminded Izuku of the not too distant past where he'd been standing on stage and presenting some sort of gadget or weapon. Those were times he'd miss.

"The four of you will form Team Iron..." Ozpin stated, catching Izuku's attention.

Izuku had recognised that the first letter of the team leader's first or last name was the one used at the start of the team name. Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. None of those began with an 'I' which confused the boy. Perhaps it was spelt as RNN and the 'I' in iron was only there for pronunciation. That was possible… though where would Izuku's name fit in? Unless he was that 'I' but that was unlikely. There was a higher chance of Izuku having been forgotten during the naming process than Izuku being the team leader. Hell, there was a higher chance that Atlas would sell their army than there was of Izuku being the team leader and if Izuku learnt anything from his history classes, it was that Atlas would rather destroy itself in some last act of defiance than willingly gave away their army and admit defeat.

So, Ren was the leader. Interesting considering that the boy was so level headed. He could definitely keep everyone in check and ensure that everyone stayed calm and focused on the objective. That would be especially important because most missions and objectives that a group of Huntsmen would be given are to do with Grimm and the last thing anyone wanted to do when facing Grimm was to be caught off-guard or distracted.

"And their team leader is…"

Izuku readied a hand to give Ren a pat on the back, the most contact he'd be willing to give. It took Pyrrha a while to get him to be comfortable with anything more than a high five (which Izuku was initially flustered by much to his embarrassment when he reminisced.) Nonetheless, he prepared his hand up to pat their new team leader as soon as it was made official.

"Izuku Midoriya."

Izuku's hand fell back to his side and his eyes widened to comical proportions. He looked up at the screen which showed their portraits as well as the team name: IRNN. The inventor was lucky his helmet hid his face or the crowd of people that were looking at him would have gone from polite applause to rather loud laughter at his priceless expression. He was a team leader. This… was not what he'd expected. At all... Perhaps there was a chance Atlas would give away their military after all.

"Well, team leader! Ain't that nice?" Nora called out, wrapping her arm around the back of Izuku's neck, "The four of us were destined to be together. There is no escape from _destiny_!"

The amount of confidence in the girl's voice made Izuku feel rather good about himself, "I'll try not to fail you guys."

"I know you won't, Izuku," Pyrrha gave the boy a pat on the back and a comforting smile.

With those words, the quartet faded back into the crowd as the next sets of students were called to the stage. Numerous team names came and went yet Izuku was stuck in some sort of stupor. He was the leader of a team of Huntsmen and that was something Izuku had never thought possible. He'd always seen himself as… What did Ruby call it? Deuteragonist and supportive leader? Yeah, he thought of himself as someone who aided the main leader, not the main leader himself.

Actually, speaking of the girl, when was she going to go on stage. And, more importantly, who was going to be on her team? Ozpin had just called out team Quartz (spelt QRTZ) so they were in the last stretch of names. To his surprise, as soon as the thought passed, he heard four names come up: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiaolong and Blake Belladonna. So, Ruby's prayers were answered since she ended up on the same team as her older sister.

As the four walked up, Izuku idly wondered who would be the leader (although nowhere near as intently as he had with his own team.) It wasn't Blake for sure since Ozpin had been going alphabetically and the teams that started with a B went to the front quite a while ago. That left Weiss, Ruby and Yang. Weiss was a possibility although she was childish and petty to the point of being an inconvenience. Then again, she was a competent fighter and could keep her team organised (she did strike Izuku as a by-the-book person, after all.) He wasn't really sure about Yang since he'd barely spent time with the girl or seen her in combat. But, she seemed like she'd keep the group out of deep trouble. Although in smaller messes, she might be the one to encourage everyone to get in.

Now Ruby… She was unlikely to be a leader. She was about as childish as Weiss and likely didn't have the same experience as Weiss nor anyone else on her team. Although she has the heart to keep moving forwards as well as the tenacity to keep on fighting, that also meant she would walk into situations she might not be able to get out of unscathed. Although, the experience and maturity would be gained as she goes on missions with the rest of her team so perhaps she had a chance as well.

"Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna… You four will form Team Ruby led by Ruby Rose," Ozpin said aloud, followed by the polite clapping of the audience as well as a few laughs.

Why the laughs? Well, unlike Izuku who had a helmet, Weiss had nothing to cover her expression of sheer confusion and disgust. Her jaw dropped, her eyes wide whilst twitching slightly and her face becoming a very, very pale white. The expression almost looked to be in the wrong place when compared to the regal-looking clothes she wore and the polite, somewhat pensive expression her face usually rested in.

"Well, zero for two then," Izuku muttered to himself as he looked at Ruby's face of pure delight, "But, I want to see where this goes. She can be her own protagonist instead of my… whatever she decided on."

As the four returned back to the rest of the crowd, Izuku couldn't help but notice how Weiss trudged off of the stage. It was almost like she wanted to argue against Ozpin but quickly decided against it and walked behind an exuberant Ruby, a proud-looking Yang and a reserved looking Weiss. Now that he thought about it, wouldn't Blake be Weiss's foil? Y'know, black and white, mature and childish, reclusive and explosive. He'd ask Ruby, she'd probably decided on their dynamic within minutes of knowing them.

"Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugo, Tenya Iida, Ochako Uraraka," Ozpin said, capturing Izuku's attention for the nth time today, "The four of you have been chosen to form Team Smokey led by Shoto Todoroki."

At the front stood Kaachan, the boy that had formed the ice pillar to catch Izuku during breakfast and two others. Kaachan, to his credit, didn't seem disappointed that he wasn't the team leader, at least not outwardly. He was sure the boy was fuming on the inside but that was internally and thus Izuku decided that he could at least compliment the boy for his self-control. It seemed that Shoto didn't notice since he still looked as apathetic as he had when Izuku saw him in the morning.

Following that team, there were only three left although Izuku couldn't say he knew any of them. Once the final team was announced, the screen displayed a long list of team names and numbers. The teams were listed alphabetically although the numbers were set randomly. He didn't know why but he wouldn't question it. Although, he was wondering what the numbers meant since there didn't seem to be anything on the slide that explained what they represent.

"Now, with that done, I'm sure you're all wondering how you'll be assigned a room. Miss Goodwitch here has keycards for each student. For those wondering, each card will open that team's specific dorm room as well as open areas like the training rooms. It is recommended that you keep these on your person," Ozpin called out, "Once you've gotten your keycard, use the list shown on the screen to find out which room your team has been assigned to. Once there, you will find any luggage that was given prior to the initiation. I hope to see you all in classes tomorrow, I recommend you don't stay up too late."

* * *

Izuku was worried. Actually, worried understated the state of sheer panic Izuku was in. Izuku was absolutely fucking terrified. And the reason for that was the single bag in one corner of Team IRNN's dorm room. That was the bag Izuku had brought some clothes, toiletries as well as his laptop (which was used primarily for the planning and modelling of any invention he made) and some small Dust vials for consumption purposes. The bag itself wasn't the problem; it was the fact that there were no other bags with it that worried Izuku. In those bags were his other weapons (notably his magnetism-based slug shotgun and the high-frequency tanto); Dust and his Nitroglycerin (the fuel used by the blast bracers) as the parts needed to construct Dreamcatcher's enclosure and almost all of his ammunition cartridges (including SDS's Aura-disrupting bullets and his tranquilliser darts.)

Izuku was about ready to break down but swallowed that fear. He was the team leader so he couldn't break down so soon. After a little talking with the rest of his team, they decided on who would take each bed. The beds were arranged in a row along the wall parallel to the door with adequate space between each bed. To the left, there was Izuku's bed followed by Pyrrha's which was then followed by Ren's and Nora's. Hiding his worries, he tossed his bag onto the bed before standing in the space between his bed and the wall to get out of Dreamcatcher.

Once he stepped out, Izuku let loose a breath before closing the armour and pushing it next to the bed. He'd likely need to keep it there until combat lessons where he would temporarily move the armour to wherever Beacon told the students to keep their combat clothes. Izuku wasn't too worried about someone taking the armour so he didn't mind taking it to a slightly more public place; the suit was locked and the armour was too large and distinct to be smuggled out successfully. Unless of course, someone had a semblance which could shrink objects since, in that case, Izuku was in trouble.

"Are you alright, Izuku?" Pyrrha asked, placing her own clothes into drawers between her bed and Izuku's, "You're blanking out."

"A-ah. Well, you see," Izuku briefly thought about lying to the girl and telling her everything was fine but Izuku wasn't sure lying would be all too beneficial in this case, "It's just that I can't see any of the extra bags that I brought with me. They had all of my weapons and ammunition including the ones that I make myself. Professor Ozpin said that they would be at our dorms."

"Oh, I see why that would be problematic," Pyrrha acknowledged before looking at the rest of the team, "Perhaps you can try looking for Ozpin later. Just sort out what you have with you right now and then you can go look for him. Although, that'll likely be quite hard so perhaps it'd be a good idea to wait until tomorrow where you can ask one of our teachers where he is to sort it out."

"There's no need," a voice called out from the now open door, "I believe you were looking for me, Mr Midoriya."

"E-Er, yes. Some of my other bags weren't in the dorm when we came here so I was hoping to ask whether you may know where it is," Izuku said, swallowing his fears when he realised he found his solution.

"That's the reason I came here myself. If you don't mind following me, I'll show you where we put them," Ozpin said before walking away from the door.

Izuku gave a quick wave to his team before walking off to follow Ozpin. The older man walked briskly, quick to reach his destination, wherever that may be. Tapping into his electricity Dust, the inventor was able to close the distance between him and Ozpin, only slowing down when he was only a metre behind the grey-haired man.

"I'm sure you're wondering why your things were placed in a different room," Ozpin stopped in front of a room, one that looked the same as Team IRRN's dorm room from the outside, "Well, at Beacon, we help our students reach their potential through extra facilities and special task or assignments. You are no different, Mr Midoriya although you are unique in what your potential comes from. Whilst a majority of my students will do fine with training rooms, tasks and lessons, your strength comes from your utility and tools, not your Aura. Therefore, we have to ensure that you reach your potential through your specific means and thus we've given you access to this room."

As the door opened, Izuku saw the standard dorms room with a few differences: a single bed as opposed to four and two sets of drawers as opposed to four, "Why are my things here?"

"You need more space than most of Beacon's other students due to your weaponry and reliance on technology," Ozpin stated, "Therefore, we gave you an empty room that won't be used this year. The door can only be opened by you and the staff of Beacon so I can assure you that nothing will be stolen from this room. I hope you make the most of this room, Mr Midoriya. I do recommend you go back to Team IRNN's dorm room lest your team become worried."

Izuku gave the room a cursory glance (mainly focusing on the location of each of his bags) before activating his Dust abilities. With the speed boost that came to him, the inventor rushed around the room to set everything in place. He'd brought some of the weapon racks that he used in I-Island with him (with expressed permission) so he set them up on one of the walls before filling them with ammunition magazines and a few weapons. Izuku spent a second to clip in the shotgun he'd brought with him; he'd likely be focusing on developing it for a future project but that could be thought of after he was done setting things up.

Once he was finished with the ammo and weapons, he quickly placed his much larger Dust containers (ones that he used to refill his smaller vials) onto the tables as well slid the smaller containers (e.g the fire Dust used for the flamethrowers) in some of the drawers. After that was sorted out, all Izuku had left was the capsule used to keep Dreamcatcher safe. Building it was a smooth process of screwing pieces into place and using the magnetic locks as well as some quick set up for the retina scanner, PIN lock and fingerprint scanner before he was finally finished with the room.

With nothing left to do, Izuku stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him heading towards his team's room. As he passed through a few different corridors, Izuku couldn't help but feel a little excited; he'd officially made it into Beacon after all. There was no greater honour than the boy could ever hope for but, along with that, he'd made it in with a great group of people by his side. Pyrrha, Ren and Nora were better leader material (in Izuku's humble opinion) but there was no doubt that they would help him reach his potential as a leader.

"And that's why I should be the leader!"

Was… that Weiss? The inventor had turned the final corner and overheard a rather loud shout coming from Team RWBY's room. As luck would have it, Team IRNN and Team RWBY ended up almost opposite each other and that led to Ruby making a brief announcement that they would be sister teams. So, seeing a commotion in his sister team's room, Izuku walked slowly as he passed by.

"I know that! I never said I was a better leader than you! I never put myself forward for the role but Professor Ozpin chose me!" Ruby replied to Weiss, seeming to be exasperated from having to repeat her words, "If you want to be the leader, go to Ozpin! Not me!"

Sensing a rather large issue at hand, Izuku had to choose between two actions: intervene and try to play mediator or go back to his own room. Whilst there was an inner part of him that told him he should poke his nose in, the more rational part of his mind told him that it was an internal affair and something he should leave to them. Besides, Weiss didn't like him either (likely because he 'took' Pyrrha from her) so it would likely do more harm than good.

Sliding the keycard into the slot, the dorm room opened and Izuku was greeted with a rather interesting sight: Dreamcatcher was being prodded endlessly by a curious Nora who was using everything from her fingers to pens to find every nook and cranny on the armour's surface. The owner of said armour knocked on the door, a small smile on his face when he saw Nora freeze in place and quickly retract her hand before looking at Ren, who'd been sitting with Pyrrha on the floor meditating. Whilst he wasn't completely sure what they were doing, he assumed that Ren was helping Pyrrha with her Aura manipulation.

"Hey, Izuku!" Nora seemed to try and save face with her natural bravado, "You… don't mind me checking out your armour, do you? Renny said that you might get angry but I thought you were a cool guy. Of course, if you don't want me to, I can stop."

"Do it as much as you want," Izuku said, he didn't mind all too much, "I can show you the insides if you want."

"So, did you find your bags? You seem more at ease," Pyrrha commented, taking deep breaths as she did so, "I don't see them on you so perhaps you have some news for us."

"Yeah… Professor Ozpin told me that I could use one of the spare rooms they had to store my weapons," Izuku gave a small smile, "So I guess any worries about taking too much space are gone."

"Ooh, ya got a spare room!" Nora gave a short giggle from the corner, "Does it have a special mirror in it?"

"No." Izuku raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Aw, dang it! If there's a mirror in a spare room, then you _have_ to look into it. Too bad there's no mirror," she seemed ever so slightly disheartened by that news but got over it quickly, "Ah well, we can go see it tomorrow. Now, show the cool stuff, 'Zuku!"

"Alright, let me just unlock it," Izuku walked over and did just that, letting the front of the armour split open, "Just, don't poke anything too hard especially on the forearms and wrist. I take precautions but I'd rather not play with literal fire."

"Ya mean your 'splodey hands, right?" Nora didn't let the boy answer, "We can test that out tomorrow. Today, we're testing the metal tentacles."

She poked her head into the armour before realising that Izuku didn't have an interior light and quickly pulled out her scroll to use the flashlight. Now with a light source, Nora looked around the interior, smiling as she did so. Once she saw the sleeves, she tilted her head to the side and shone a light down the tunnel, briefly seeing bright glints of reflected light. Caught off-guard, she stumbled back out of the armour, almost tripping if not for her arms wildly flailing to keep her balanced.

"What did you see?" Izuku asked, interested in the girl's reactions, "There shouldn't have been anything in there so I don't see what would scare you."

"I wasn't scared!" Nora huffed before perking up in an instant, "There was something super shiny at the end of your arm."

"Sure. I'm pretty sure that you saw the conductive pads in the hand section of Dreamcatcher," Izuku nodded slowly, assuming that Nora saw what he was thinking of, "They're basically access points that my electricity goes through to start certain functions. I have a whole OS for the inputs and to regulate what they do. For example, if electricity comes through a certain finger pad, it'll trigger the nitroglycerin ejectors to move it from the main tank to the mini canister and (once that signal ends) it'll eject the nitroglycerin and detonate it with a mini flamethrower built into the armour. If I shoot it through the fingertips, it'll go through a wire and be released out of the armour which lets me zap things with electricity whilst I'm in my armour. And then, there are the layer inputs which completely switch what each input does."

"Sounds complicated…" Nora awed over the complexity, giggling all the while "How do you remember it all? Are... you secretly a robot?"

"Not a robot.I remember it since I was the one that built it. I was the one that chose which input did what and the amount of practice I did in Dreamcatcher was insane," Izuku explained, "I guess you could say that it's pretty convoluted for an outsider but, considering this armour is only for me, I don't think it matters all too much."

"Hmm," Nora scratched her chin as if pondering something, before clicking her fingers, "Can you teach me?"

"But, there'd be no reason. You wouldn't be able to use it properly: we're built completely different so you may not fit in properly which is especially important for the input system; it requires a tight, constant control to ensure that only electricity in a certain part of you body inputs a certain signal; and you'd need to be able to source the electricity to keep the suit to run constantly," Izuku explained, causing the girl to frown somewhat, "I'm sorry, Nora. But, I know for sure we have completely different body types and, from your explanation of your semblance, you can redirect electricity that comes into you but can't source it completely yourself. Using it might hinder your performance so I'm sure that you would do much better without it."

"Alright then," Nora accepted the fact that she wouldn't become the hammer-wielding, havoc-wreaking metal warrior, who had been in her mind only minutes ago, "But if your armour's so cool, how come you have your handguns?"

"One's a handgun whilst the other is a tranquilliser gun. Since I can't stay at max output all of the time, I need some time to power down and recharge," the teen explained, sliding the handgun out of the holster and checking the magazines, "I'll need to refill this when I go to the armoury room. Oh, where was I? Right, so I can't always keep the electricity Dust in my body running so I need to make sure I can rely on other weapons like this gun during those periods of downtime. They're also better for ranged combat since Black Whip and the Blast Bracers-

"Oh yeah, the 'splodey hands.' Ya know, it kinda reminds me of that time you fought that guy with the explosive semblance," Nora said, inspecting the forearms of the armour with various amounts of intrigue, "Are you friends or something? Or are you sworn enemies that will fight each other to the death?"

"H-huh?" Izuku spluttered, completely thrown off, "Kaachan is… an acquaintance. We used to be friends but that ship sorta sailed a long time ago. I don't think we're enemies but he'd probably act like we are. Anyways, going back on-"

"Did he bully you?" the girl completely threw Izuku for a loop.

"No," Izuku lied, hoping that his expression wasn't betraying him, "We're just not friends anymore. Nothing more, nothing less. So, anyways-"

"That's good. If he was bullying you, I'd have to break his legs as a sign of loyalty."

"Sign of loyalty?"

"Team leader, did you really think I wouldn't pledge allegiance to you? The pancake church will follow you wherever you go, we'll send our best crusaders!" Nora announced, much to Izuku's increasing disbelief, "I trust that you don't think we'll have a repeat of the fourth crusade!"

"What happened in the fourth crusade?"

"What didn't happen in the fourth crusade?" Nora sighed, reminiscing, "Renny, do you remember the fourth crusade?"

"The one where I forbid you from continuing crusades?" Ren asked, cracking open a single eyelid mid-meditation.

"That's the one, Ren… The one where you told me… oh, right," Nora sheepishly scratched the back of her head, "Sorry Izuku, no crusade."

"I never asked for a crusade."

"But your heart yearns for it, I know the feeling," Nora nodded slowly and patted Izuku "It's how I've felt since Ren issued those words. Sadly, Ren's words are final so no crusades."

"A-Alright…" Izuku sighed in relief, there was no telling what Nora would have done to Katsuki if he said yes and she went on a 'crusade.'

"So, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, your tiny gun things!" Nora seemed to move straight back on topic as if she hadn't completely derailed the conversation, "Do they have a name?"

"No. I couldn't think of anything good for them but that's beside the point. Anyways, my guns are used when Black Whip and Blast Bracers become ineffective and SDS is impractical. In those cases, these guns really shine. Oh, and they also have access to a wide range of Dust ammunition so they have that going for them."

"What's an SDS?" Nora grabbed the sniper that was attached to the back of Dreamcatcher, "Is it this? What does it stand for?"

"Shield-disrupting-"

"Shield… disrupting. You mean it stops shields, as in Aura shields?" she asked back to which Izuku nodded, "... Can I shoot myself with it?"

"No! It can do a lot of damage so I recommend you don't. Anyway, it stops your Aura for a while which leaves you vulnerable," Izuku pointed out, "And, it's really effective on anything below the M rating. Sadly, after that rating, I found that it becomes almost completely ineffective no matter how hard I try... Also, when is it ever a good idea to shoot yourself?"

"When I need to use Dust during combat. Of course, since I don't have my own little gun, I have to ask Renny but I can always rely on him! Ain't that right, Renny?"

"You really should buy something to inject Dust in yourself," Ren said, having finished meditating with Pyrrha, "Perhaps a small pistol for electric Dust wouldn't be bad in your arsenal."

"I could always make something for you, if you'd like," Izuku suggested, "Perhaps a gauntlet that releases electricity when activated. That wouldn't be too hard to make in my spare time, especially since I completed all of my old projects from I-Island. I can go over some ideas tomorrow if you'd like."

"Yeah! A gadget made by the team leader himself, what were you worrying about, Izuku? You won't ever fail us!" Nora placed a firm hand on his shoulder before pulling him into a side hug, "Until we do the gadget thing, let's do some combos. With your electric Dust and my semblance, we'll be unstoppable!"

"Not today, Nora," Ren interjected, "Tomorrow is our first day at Beacon, it wouldn't do good to be late on our first day. Perhaps tomorrow during lunch or one of the free periods we have."

"Aw," Nora blew a raspberry at Ren, who shrugged at her, "That's no fun… but you're always right. Alright, after classes, we're going to do some electrical combos!"

"Yeah," Izuku nodded in affirmation, "Sounds like a plan."


	8. Lessons at Beacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter has been ported from FF.net. Damn, I need to stop forgetting I have an AO3 account. Hope you enjoy, friends.

Two small bottles stood in front of Izuku as he sat at one of the tables, one a mix of electric Dust and water while the other was energy Dust and water. He gulped the contents of both down quickly, ignoring the slight burning feeling in his throat. Tapping his feet against the floor, his eyes shifted to glance at his textbooks, then took another glance to ensure he had everything else he needed before he rested back into the chair. On the wall, a clock told him the time right now: 8:40 if Izuku wasn't mistaken.

"Hey, you've got your pens sorted, right?" Pyrrha asked from behind him, wearing Beacon's uniform.

"Yep, I've brought more than enough for the year so I wouldn't mind sharing if you need one," Izuku answered, deciding to adjust the tie that came with Beacon's male uniforms; he never was good with ties.

"I have my own. Just wanted to make sure we're all well-prepared for our first day in Beacon's lessons," Pyrrha clarified, "Even if teachers like Professor Port are said to be lax, that doesn't mean we should be careless."

"Yeah. Even if we made it into Beacon, that doesn't mean that we're completely out of the woods," Izuku agreed to the sentiment, "Speaking of, do you think that we can go down there any time soon? The Emerald Forest, I mean. Seems like a great place for a run, you know. Well, a run and some occasional battle experience should I stumble into some Grimm."

"Why the Emerald Forest?" Pyrrha chuckled slightly, "Doesn't matter, I guess. I'm sure we can ask one of the teachers later. If you are allowed, would you mind if I came with you? The scenery was rather beautiful during the initiation."

"That's probably half the reason why I want to run there. The other half is to increase my acrobatic skills and speed; the branches there seem like a great place for me to improve my parkour," the boy admitted, remembering the vivid greens of flora.

"Is that where we're doing our combos?" Nora asked from her bed, spinning a pen in her hands, "Seems like a bad idea to do it around trees."

"Nah, we can do those combos in the training rooms that Professor Ozpin mentioned yesterday," Izuku said, "We can start after lessons if you want."

"Yeah! And, once we do that, we can get the zappy thing designed," Nora gave the boy a bright smile, "We make a great team, right 'Zuku?"

"Of course we do," Izuku returned her smile with his own, "We're gunning for the top spot, right guys?"

"Right!" Nora enthusiastically posed on top of her bed.

"Definitely," Pyrrha agreed, her voice nowhere near as exuberant as Nora's.

"It's best to push ourselves as far as we can," Ren pointed out, sifting through his bag, "If that leads us to the very top, so be it. Oh, and speaking of, to get the top spot, we should attend our classes. It's currently 8:50 and Port's class seems to be quite a distance from here. Shall we head out?"

"That we shall, Ren!" Nora slung her bag over her arm, and leapt towards the door, "To the lessons!"

She rushed out of the door, giving the rest of the team no choice but to follow her. As they walked through the corridor, Izuku idly wondered whether he should knock on Team Ruby's door. There were only 10 minutes before class started and he was sure they'd appreciate the reminder, even if they were aware of the time. Then again, those noises behind the door indicated that some work was being done. He didn't have any idea what they were doing but he didn't want to distract them; they were probably rushing to get some last-minute touch-ups done and him knocking would distract and slow them down. He decided to go on without knocking; he was sure that they were already aware of the time.

* * *

With his notebook set on the table and a pen in hand, Izuku focused all of his attention on the teacher at the front. Well, most of his focus was on the teacher whilst a small amount thought about the absence of a certain team of Huntresses-in-training. In other words, Izuku was worried and feeling a slight bit guilty that he hadn't knocked on the door and told Team Ruby that lessons would start soon. He ignored that and looked at the old, portly man who stood at the front of the class as well as the numerous diagrams of Grimm behind him. There was an air of experience around the man as if he had the wildest stories and the most out-there tales which he could back up with the simple phrase 'I was there.'

The door to the classroom burst open with Ruby stumbling past her team before straightening up and speaking, "Sorry we're late, Professor Port. We had a little space management issue that needed to be sorted out and lost track of time."

"It's quite alright, miss…" Port waited for an answer

"Rose."

"Well then Miss Rose, consider this a lesson about ensuring punctuality. Please take a seat with the rest of your team," Port gestured towards the only empty seats in the room, "Right now seems to be as good a time as any to get started. As a budding Huntsman, many of you will be sent to fight the Grimm. Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night and nightmare incarnate! Yes, the Grimm have many, many names but, as a Huntsman, I merely call them prey! Hah!"

The man led off strong with his speech although the last joke met a short silent reception. Many in the room looked at the professor with interest; he had charisma if nothing else. Of course, whilst many were focused, some were much less interested. An example would be Ruby who'd been leaning against the table with only a single eye open to show that she was still conscious, if only barely.

"And you shall too, once you've graduated and are sent on missions yourselves. Now, I must make clear that Vale, as well as the other kingdoms, are relatively safe havens in an otherwise treacherous, dangerous world! Our planet is _teeming_ with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear humanity to pieces! And that's where we come in, class! Huntsmen! Huntresses..." Port winked exaggeratedly at no-one in particular, "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves!"

This was given a better reception than the last with one student going as far as to stand and raise their fist to the air with a triumphant yell. Of course, that wasn't how all of the class reacted with some having expected the general tone of 'Huntsman are the good guys and fight Grimm.' It was by no means obscure knowledge but it was understandable that the school wanted to hammer that fact home.

"Now, before we get into the main classes where we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a Grimm species, I'll be telling you all a little story. There are three important attributes that every Huntsman and Huntress must have to be able to stay alive and return to their loved ones. Long ago, when I was a mere boy…" Professor Port started his story, a monotonous story but still one that captured Izuku's attention nonetheless.

Over the course of several minutes, the teacher spoke of an experience where he took down a group of Beowolves when he was but a boy. Despite his age and a lack of physique, he'd been able to plan out a way for him to take down all of the Grimm with his knowledge of the area, rudimentary observations and, most importantly according to Port, the trust of the town that through collaboration, they'd be able to defeat the Grimm.

"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity. I returned to the village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" Port finished with a grin, "Of course, my story has a moral that goes with it and I'm sure you're all wondering, what are these important attributes? Well, let me make this clear, a true Huntsman must be honourable so that people will be able to trust you without fear of being tricked or taken advantage of. A true Huntsman must be dependable so that people have no reason to question your acts and your deeds. And, a true Huntsman must be strategic and wise for strength alone will not win all battles and, in any case, extra knowledge can decrease the risks and liabilities."

Port let his words hang in the air for a while, enjoying the end to his own story and finishing off his little trip down memory lane. The sound of pen etching words onto paper was heard across the room as some took the time to note those things down. Whilst the idea of being strategic and wise was obvious, not everyone could say they were of the most honourable type. The interactions with those that needed to be saved were something that many may have skipped over; the act of fighting Grimm was something that took centre stage when one thought about Huntsman work.

"Ah, some of you may not have expected that but I assure you that being approachable can be important in our line of work. If you leave room for doubt, there is a very large chance that the doubt will grow into unease and unease will lead to fear and second-guessing. All of these emotions are especially dangerous when a Grimm of any kind comes into play; you may have been tasked with only fighting a group of Beowolves but, should you cause unease, you'll draw more Grimm, perhaps an Ursa and Boarbatusk, which endangers both yourselves and those who hired you. I recommend that you all take my words to heart," Port nodded to the class, giving the go-ahead to start taking quick notes, "As I said, those who embody these traits make the finest Huntsmen there are. Now, I shall ask you all a rather simple question: who here considers themselves a true Huntsman?"

"I do," Weiss quickly raised her hand, her voice brimming with restrained rage, "I think I have what is needed to make a true Huntress."

"Good, good…" Port nodded slowly, deciding to survey the rest of the room, "Does anyone else want to prove themselves? I'm sure no one wants Ms Schnee to steal the spotlight..."

"I'll do it. I'll show the rest of these extras who they're going to be competing against," Bakugo raised his hand, voice carrying across the room.

"Good to see the youth of today still have competitive spirits. Competition leads to improvement and one thing I hope you learn in Beacon before all else is that you should all be striving for improvement no matter how small it may be," Port made a grandiose wave of his arms, "Ms Schnee, you will be going first due to being the first to put yourself forward. I recommend that you change into your combat attire, you'll be given some time to quickly grab it. You as well, Mr…"

"Katsuki Bakugo," the blonde said, standing up and heading away from his desk.

"Yes, Mr Bakugo, you should also get your combat attire. You shall be facing a similar Grimm after Ms Schnee is finished," Port dismissed the boy as he had with Weiss, "To the rest of you, I shall be giving you all another, much shorter story. Earlier on in my second year as a fully-fledged Huntsman, I remember…"

* * *

A few minutes and a story about the Ursa who'd hidden in an abandoned barn later, Izuku looked up to see that both Katsuki and Weiss had already entered the classroom. He hadn't even noticed since he was so focused on the story but he wasn't sure if Port had either; the teacher had continued telling his story despite their presence. Then again, Izuku didn't want to hear only half of a story, especially if it ended at the part where the town who called for a Huntsman had gone in without telling Professor Port. That would have been one hell of a cliffhanger.

"Now that I've concluded my story, it's time for you youths to prove yourselves capable of being at this academy. You've all gone through Beacon's initiation, a Dark 2 Boarbatusk should be no trouble," Port walked in front of a line of five boxes before removing the cloth above them to reveal caged Boarbatusks, "Ms Schnee... You may begin when you're ready."

Weiss walked towards the cage until she was only a few metres away from the front of it before fixing her gaze on the caged Grimm and raising her rapier, "I'm ready, Professor."

"Well then," the man swung a large axe which had been taken off of the wall during the lecture and broke the lock on the cage, "Prove yourself, Ms Schnee."

The Grimm started sprinting before curling into a ball, barrelling towards the girl. She responded by raising her rapier and waiting for the moment when the Boarbatusk would be in striking distance. As soon as she saw the perfect moment, she sidestepped and thrust the rapier to the side, the tip striking the Grimm's side. For a second, it seemed as if the blade had pierced through the armoured flesh but it was quickly disproved when the Boarbatusk continued rolling without stopping, not phased by the jab.

"Go for its underside, Weiss!" Ruby said loudly, slightly worried that her partner didn't know relatively simple information about Boarbatusk; they were a common Grimm after all, "The rest of its body is covered in armour. You won't pierce it without your speed enhance-"

"I know, Ruby!" the white-haired girl seemed momentarily distracted, her tone seething with the anger that had been present earlier, "Do you take me for a fool?"

"No! Of course, I don't!" the younger girl tried to placate her teammate, "But you seemed to-"

"Quiet! I'll show them here and now that I'm a better leader than you will ever be! So be quiet!" Weiss screamed back heatedly, now having forgotten that she was in a fight.

That cost her since the Boarbatusk had already turned around and leapt towards Weiss, tusks ready to impale the young heiress. Instinctually, Weiss jabbed her rapier towards the Grimm in response only for the creature to turn its head and pull the weapon out of Weiss's light grip. Now without a weapon, she decided to use her semblance and quickly formed a white glyph between herself and the Boarbatusk before pushing her hands forwards and repelling the Grimm back and creating a sizable gap between them. Once that was done, she gently tapped a finger on the ground and summoned a glyph which spread wide enough to reach both herself and the Grimm.

In less than a second, the two were lifted into the air before the glyph dispersed and two more formed in its place: one formed above Weiss and cancelled her upwards momentum whilst the other kept the Boarbatusk in the air for a few seconds. Her feet gracefully landed on the ground and, only seconds after she landed, so did her sword. She caught it before pushing the tip against the ground and creating yet another glyph although this one seemed different; it was more akin to a clock than a snowflake (the shape of the ones used previously.) She spun the chambers in her rapier and the yellow Dust clicked into place. Moments later, electric Dust was ejected from the tip of the sword and into the glyph. All of this prep work led to the clock shining brighter with a slight yellow tinge; her time dilation glyph was now active.

The white glyph keeping the Boarbatusk in place disappeared and the creature fell, its predicted landing spot being the tip of Weiss's blade. Of course, the Grimm tried to curl back up into a ball and protect itself but two white glyphs appeared above and below the creature to flatten it. With its arms and legs spread out and without any room to adjust its body into a defensive position, there was no way the Grimm could escape from Weiss's attack.

As soon it came close enough to be struck with the sword, the glyphs above the creature dispersed and blinked out of existence. With nothing more to be done, Weiss pulled back her sword arm slightly and bent her knees before stabbing the sword directly into the belly of Boarbatusk. The sword pierced straight through the Grimm, it's belly barely touching the crossguard before it slid to a stop. Despite the wound, the Grimm was still flailing its legs and trying to impale the girl with its tusks.

Without the strength needed to throw the Grimm off (especially with one hand), Weiss relied on her glyphs and formed another white glyph around the crossguard before pushing it to the tip of her blade. As it moved, the glyph pushed the Boarbatusk off with it and pushed it back onto the ground. Thankfully for Weiss, the Boarbatusk landed on its back which gave her the perfect opening to repeatedly stab straight through the creature's head. After several thrusts, the Grimm was able to curl back into a ball and evade the blade that had already pierced its skin multiple times.

Weiss formed a time dilation glyph once again before sprinting to the Grimm. Thumbing the cylinder again, she switched to fire Dust before elegantly slashing at the Grimm (although the blade stayed millimetres away from the abomination.) Following the tip of her blade, an arc of fire formed in the air, burning the girl's opponent severely. A following vertical slash of flames caused further damage before the combination of a white glyph to push it upwards and thrust of the blade into the underside of the head finally finished the Grimm off. After the following stab and a few seconds of waiting later, it was clear that the shadowy flesh was slowly disintegrating.

"Good job, Weiss!" Ruby called over, congratulating the girl in her usual tone.

"Marvellous. Well done, Ms Schnee!" Port congratulated the girl and smiled at her, "We truly are in the presence of someone who can be a true Huntress. You may go and change back into your usual uniform. Mr Bakugo, your time has come. Show the class what you are capable of!"

The boy walked up to the front nonchalantly, wearing a tight, black vest with a red cross on it and baggy trousers. He lifted his arm, almost as if to brandish his grenade-shaped gauntlets (ones which looked like thicker, heftier versions of the original blast bracers in Izuku's opinion.) Port took this as a sign of being ready and gave the boy a quick nod before striking the lock on the cage with the axe. Bakugo prepped his hands behind him and waited for the creature to leave its cage.

As soon as the Boarbatusk stepped out of the cage, the boy's face contorted into a snarl and he released twin explosions behind him which flung him forwards towards the creature. As soon as he closed the distance, he swung a hand beneath him and used an explosion to push the Grimm into the ground. Cancelling his forward momentum with another explosion, the boy released twin blasts above him and slammed directly onto its back with incredible force before jumping off with another explosion.

The Boarbatusk curled into a ball and started rolling, slightly faster than the one that Weiss had to deal with. Katsuki stood his ground, crouching low and positioning his hands so that one was facing upwards and the other was downwards; he already had a plan for this. As soon as the Boartabusk was close enough that it was only a second from running the boy over, he let loose an explosion upwards resulting in the Boarbatusk being thrown into the air whilst still in a ball. Using his other palm, he was able to quickly release an explosion into the creature's side.

Because of the blast, the creature landed on its side, being forced to uncurl lest it stays stuck in position and blown to pieces. Bakugo took advantage of this and let loose another blast which blew the Grimm upwards. Due to not being in a ball like the previous time, Bakugo had the perfect opportunity to blow open the creature's belly. Taking the opportunity, he did just that with explosions strong enough to fling the Grimm directly into the edge of the classroom. Seeing that it was still alive, Bakugo sped over to the creature and shoved his hand into Grimm's mouth before detonating blasts in it multiple times. Whilst the Grimm fought back by biting the gauntlet and slashing its tusks into Bakugo's chest, it was thwarted by blasts that made sure it stayed in the position he wanted it to be in. The result was decided long before the Grimm died; it had no way to save itself from those explosions and succumbed to the damage.

"Mr Bakugo, I have to say that I'm impressed. A swift victory is the best kind, my boy. I see that you are also true Huntsman material! Feel free to go and change back into school uniform," Port announced before waving towards the class, "For those who chose not to fight today, know that there will be opportunities in the future to test your mettle. I have one final little story for you all, it all happened when I- Oh, look at the time. It appears that this class will end in a minute. Perhaps I'll tell that one next lesson, you've all listened to more than a few stories today. Dismissed for now."

After moving all of his equipment back into his bag, Izuku (followed by the rest of his team) left the classroom and started heading off to their second lesson: a combat class with Professor Goodwitch. Whilst they walked out, Izuku couldn't help but think over the story that Professor Port had gone over. Whilst it was interesting as a story, it was much more interesting to think of it as something that Izuku may have to go through. After all, he was planning to become a huntsman and the only thing that stopped him from having the same wild stories was circumstance. Maybe one day he'd collect enough stories to be able to tell others. Perhaps he could write a book; that'd be a fun thing to do in his free time when he was older.

"So, what did you think of the lesson?" Izuku asked, making small talk as they walked through winding corridors, "I thought Professor Port's story was pretty interesting."

A confused look seemed to go over their faces (to varying degrees of severity) but Nora was the one to speak up first, "Izuku, he can't hear you. You can be honest you know. His story was so boring I almost fell asleep."

"As great as it is that you were able to take so much from the lesson," Pyrrha started before mulling over her words for a second, "His stories didn't quite do it for me. Whilst things can be learned from them, they don't appear to be as effective for me as they are for you."

Ren gave him a rather small smile, "I hope you took as many notes as it looked like you did, Izuku. Whilst I gave it my best effort, I wasn't able to take much away from the stories. I assume that it was different for you."

"... Was it really _that_ boring?" Izuku said aloud before wondering it over, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'll be sure to share my notes whenever you need it, we're a team after all. We should all look out for each other."

"Well said, team leader!" Nora got close to him and patted his shoulder, "You don't mind if I take your notebook a little longer, do you? I sorta forgot to take notes in the lesson aside from those three things he said, hehe."

"Sure, I'll just give you guys my book and stick around in case you need me to clear up any handwriting errors," the boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "It usually isn't too bad but when I get super focused, I tend to lower quality to up the pace."

"It's not that bad from what I looked at," Pyrrha blushed slightly and started twiddling her fingers together, "I hope you don't mind if I copied some of your notes without asking, Izuku."

"Not at all. Use my work as much as you like. If I'm the only one that can sit through Professor Port's stories, I should use that to help my team," Izuku answered which led to the girl breathing a sigh of relief.

"That's good; the guilt was starting to eat at me for not asking permission..." Pyrrha answered, before trailing off for a second, "Are Yang and Blake alone or am I missing Ruby and Weiss in the crowd?"

"Yes… I don't see them anywhere," Izuku instinctively set off a quick burst of electricity from his fingertips only to zap the floor "... right, not wearing Dreamcatcher. I don't have Black Whip on me either so I can't look from a higher position."

"You must have become quite accustomed to your set of armour, Izuku. I'm surprised you didn't notice you weren't wearing it," Ren mentioned, scratching his chin ever so slightly, "On the absence of Weiss and Ruby, they did seem at odds with each other. Maybe they stayed behind to try and resolve their conflict."

"I doubt that. Whilst Ruby is trying to fix their issue before it gets out of hand, Weiss is doing her best to ensure that she achieves her goal: becoming the leader of their team," Pyrrha gave her thoughts, "She said it quite bluntly during her fight with the Boarbatusk when Ruby gave her some tips."

"That's also true. Do you think they'll get to Professor Goodwitch's class on time?" Izuku asked although no one had an answer, "I guess we'll just wait and see."

* * *

As Izuku had expected, the first combat lesson was mainly about rules and guidelines as well as general fight etiquette and rules on when you shouldn't attack an opponent (the most important being not to hit anyone who has already been put into the red zone which started when there were only three hours of Aura remaining by default.) It wasn't all too exciting but Izuku sat through it anyway, knowing that he'd likely need to follow the system I-Island had used for him. Why would he need a special system? Simply put, the one that most students used were to do with Aura and assumed that both fighters could keep their Aura up for longer than an hour (a task that most civilians can do without much hassle.) Izuku couldn't hold his Aura for more than a minute, let alone three hours, which meant he'd always be the loser by default according to the system.

Surprisingly, the system specifically for him was thought of by David Shield. Despite being a scientist first-and-foremost, the man seemed to have a soft spot for bat-and-ball games and gave him a ruling because of it: three strikes and you're out. In other words, Izuku could take three hits inside of his armour before he had to tap out. Whilst he'd opposed it initially, it made sense because Izuku wouldn't always be able to fight in Dreamcatcher. Whilst the energy Dust was able to strengthen his body and make him hit harder, it by no means gave him extra durability so a good slash with a bladed weapon or being struck by a blunt weapon would put him down. Therefore, it made sense that he shouldn't get into the habit of face tanking attacks without attempts of dodging. Of course, three strikes was a very low amount and, if Izuku was caught off guard, all three could be landed without him knowing but it was reason enough to play evasive.

Using a monitoring system that detected anything that hits Dreamcatcher with over a certain amount of force (mainly to avoid registering things that weren't attacks) as well as using the logs from the sensors on Dreamcatcher, a decent system was crafted to ensure that fights would be fair and thus Izuku would be able to fight in combat class on a somewhat even playing field (he'd still need to get his opponent's Aura down like everyone else so technically he was at a disadvantage.)

"Whilst I have given you all the rules verbally, perhaps it would be best to show you how a sparring match works physically. Has anyone here grasped the rules well enough to demonstrate?" Goodwitch asked the room.

"Me. I wouldn't mind going first," Katsuki called out, raising his hand, "Can I choose my opponent?"

"Of course. As long as your opponent consents to spar with you, I see no reason to stop you," the teacher stated absent-mindedly, "I assume you already know who you'd like to spar with."

"Yes," Katsuki nodded before looking at a certain green-haired boy, "Deku, you and I are going to settle this."

"Ah, I'm sorry to say but you won't be able to spar with Mr Midoriya. We'll be using an alternate system for him so I'd prefer it if you fought someone that isn't an outlier to certain rules. This match's purpose is to show the rules in action," Glynda said, pointing to someone who'd raised their hand, "Ms Schnee, you raised your hand. Would you mind sparing with Bakugo?"

"Not at all, Professor," Weiss nodded at the teacher and went to get her combat clothes.

"Why can't I fight, Deku? How is he an outlier to the rules?" Katsuki looked at Professor Goodwitch directly in the eyes and only slightly flinched when she returned the look with an icy glare.

"Mr Midoriya's Aura isn't compatible with the system that we use right now so he'll be using a slightly altered system when it comes to sparring," Glynda explained, splitting the attention between herself and Izuku, "If you'd like to know what that system is, I'd recommend you ask to spar with Mr Midoriya next lesson."

Katsuki muttered something under his breath but quickly left the room to don his combat gear. As he walked away, he looked at Izuku with an angry look that conveyed a simple message: you're not getting out of this. At least, that's what the inventor interpreted but it wasn't like he had an amazing idea of what went on in Bakugo's head. Izuku hadn't been expecting the chance to spar with his old friend but he would gladly have taken the chance.

"There's Weiss. And…" Ren took a second to look at Team RWBY "Ruby's back as well so it must not have been that big of a conflict. On another note, the two who fought against Grimm last lesson will fight against each other. Who do you think will win, Izuku?"

"What? Why are you asking me?"

"You have experience with them in combat: you fought against Bakugo and fought with Weiss. Therefore, you likely have a gauge of how strong they are compared to each other," Ren explained before gesturing for Izuku to continue, "So, your thoughts?"

"Well, I know more about Kaachan's abilities for sure. He's definitely better than Weiss in close combat, no doubt about that. You saw the fights with Boarbatusk: he can easily overpower and outmanoeuvre his opponents in a lot of instances. During Weiss's own fight, she relied on her semblance a lot so it seems that, whilst she has the swordsmanship and training, Kaachan would beat her in CQC without the semblance," Izuku said his thought before pausing for a second to rectify the obvious, "Of course, there's no reason _not_ to use her semblance so that doesn't matter all too much."

"Superior combat skills are usually what wins a fight in my experience, Izuku, " Pyrrha pitched in, "I've seen many who used their semblance as a crutch or as their main weapon, much like Katski does, deplete their own Aura before their opponent landed a good hit. I've also seen numerous fights where the fighter with the superior semblance had inferior combat skills and thus lost."

"That is true. Although, from our experience, Weiss's abilities seem to be quite extensive. Whilst she may have to sacrifice a little Aura, she can definitely shift the tide in her favour if she's able to increase her speed or if she pins Katsuki down with one of those glyphs. Then there's her proficiency with Dust. Since we only saw her use fire Dust to improve the cut of her rapier and electric Dust for speed glyphs, we're currently unaware of what the rest can do. We've seen her use both her glyphs and Dust in tandem so there are way too many combinations for us to consider and know about. This fight will come down to whether one of Weiss's abilities are able to counter Kaachan's explosions, whether they allow her to surpass him in speed or strength, whether Kaachan can destroy a glyph."

"That was a comprehensive analysis. It should help us see this fight from a different perspective," Ren nodded towards the main arena at the bottom, "Are we sure that Weiss's glyphs can break? Since it's her semblance, we can assume that the glyphs are made of her Aura and thus the question is whether those glyphs can be broken or not. We may need to question range as well since there may be a limit to how far she can project a glyph. During our encounter with the Nevermore, the furthest one appeared from her would be the one she was planning to use on Ruby before you went up yourself. If I recall correctly, the bottom was only five or so metres above her. If we are assuming that's her effective range, do you change your conclusion?"

"Definitely not. The biggest thing that Weiss would have over Katsuki would be the ability to attack from range which he can't do nearly as effectively. If that's her range, she'll be playing a lot of defence and, considering that all of her glyphs require some Aura to form like all other semblances, it's likely that she'd end up exhausting her Aura at some point and losing the match. Although, Kaachan would be susceptible to a similar defeat if she was able to keep her defence up longer than he could keep attacking, " Izuku shrugged, accepting that there were other factors beyond his knowledge.

"So it comes down to who has a better grasp of their semblance, correct?" Ren stated, thinking it over for a second, "Or is there something else?"

"In that kind of fight, Aura efficiency and the cost for the semblance would become the largest factors for the fight although understanding one's semblance will definitely help you for the latter. If it came down to that, I can't give any insight since I don't have the information needed to come to a conclusion. The only thing I can say is that Kaachan's semblance becomes stronger over the course of a fight which may also influence the fight. Then again, I can't say I'm a completely unbiased source; Kaachan was my first friend and, even if we've moved past that and our friendship is a thing of the past, I'm sure that affects my judgment slightly."

"Even if you are slightly biased, I can't help but agree with your conclusion considering the lack of knowledge I have on both fighters," Ren agreed with Izuku and leaned back into his seat, "What about you Pyrrha? You're accustomed to one-on-one fights if your tournament background is any indication so I'm sure you've come to your own conclusions."

"My experience mainly comes down to the actual fighting, I don't do much in terms of analysis except for trying to deduce weak points in my opponent's fighting styles," the redhead scratched her chin slightly, "My semblance comes into play quite often in my fights and I know for a fact that it'd be much more effective on Weiss than Katsuki since I'd be able to manipulate and influence Weiss's rapier whilst I'd be unable to prevent Katsuki from releasing explosions. Disregarding that, I think that Weiss might be able to win this fight if she can stack her glyph's effects on top of each other. At the fastest speed we've seen her move at, Izuku could easily outpace her. Since Katsuki was able to counter and dodge some of Izuku's own attacks (which are usually more hectic and erratic than sword thrusts,) it's reasonable to assume he'd be able to dodge a majority of Weiss's melee attacks. The inclusion of Dust modifiers to the attacks may not mean much if he's able to avoid all of Weiss's attacks. However, if she can multiply or add to the effect of the glyph, the situation changes."

"A valid argument. I only paid attention to a part of Izuku's fight with Bakugo so I hadn't taken that into account," Ren admitted before turning to the member of their team which hadn't spoken yet, "Nora, semblance for your thoughts?"

"Blondie is going to destroy the girl in white. Gimme that rush, Renny!" Nora said loudly, ignoring the confused eyes staring directly at her.

"Nora…" Ren pushed one hand against his temples and used his other to lightly touch Nora's hand, "Alright, I did say semblance for your thoughts. Just, don't say anything weird, alright?"

Almost as abruptly as the semblance had appeared, it ended. Nora's eyes glazed over in a look of sheer lifelessness before colour burst in front of it. She let out a bright smile and stretched her arms, content with the sudden rush of emotions that came to her. She looked slightly dazed in… satisfaction, or what could be described as such. There was no way to put the look in Nora's eyes into words but it spoke of just how happy she was.

"Well, it seems both fighters are ready for battle," Izuku nodded towards the centre of the room where both students were staring at each other with enormous amounts of contempt, "Now we're just waiting on the combat system syncing up to both fighters. It shouldn't take too long."

As Izuku had said, it only took a dozen or so seconds before the system pinged and two bars appeared on the monitor above the battleground. The screen was similar to the one that was used in the amphitheatre, which was to be expected considering that this classroom was almost identical to the main amphitheatre although it was much smaller and didn't have the stage that the main amphitheatre had. A small smile appeared on his face as he took a longer look at those bars; the red portion of the bar (which indicated the red zone) was noticeably smaller on Katsuki's bar than on Weiss's. The inventor was sure that those years Katsuki spent training his Aura led to it becoming much stronger than before. Strong enough that he could likely outlast Weiss when it came to semblance use if he tried to conserve Aura.

"I'm sure you listened to the rules so I won't go over them once more. Remember that, once the opponent's Aura is in the red zone, you may not attack them without repercussions," Glynda cracked her riding crop into the air, "That being said, I want neither of you to hold back. Until your opponent's Aura hits the red, you have no reason to hold back. You may begin."

As soon as he registered the words, Katsuki went on the attack. Using a small explosion behind him to push him forwards to close the gap and then a larger one beneath him to give him some height, Katsuki got himself into the perfect position for an axe kick which he took. He lifted his heel higher and, with a final set of explosions aimed upwards for a final boost in momentum, slammed it down hard. He hadn't expected to hit the girl (she'd be a weak and stupid extra to let one of his attacks connect) so the shield of light that met his kick wasn't much of a shock.

Weiss didn't have much time to avoid the kick so she chose to defend against it. With her semblance, she summoned another glyph in front of her before thumbing her fingers through her Dust chambers until the hard-light cylinder clicked into place. Tilting her rapier as if to block on the attack, she poked the very tip of the glyph causing the shield glyph to activate and form a surface of solid light to form over her. Not even a second after the shield was formed, it was struck by Katsuki's heel which caused numerous small cracks and hairline fractures across the surface.

On pure instinct, the blonde lightly hopped off the shield and dove to the ground, right hand aiming at the ground. As soon as he had a clear shot, an explosion struck the ground causing the boy to be pushed back into the air and pushing Weiss away from the shield. With the opportunity showing itself, he thrust forwards with an explosion and, with all of his body mass and momentum, landed directly on the unprotected girl. With his opponent pinned down and her weapon trapped beneath her, Katsuki gripped her head (thumbs pushing slightly into the eye socket and fingers wrapping around the back of the head) before releasing point-blank explosions from both hands.

Weiss wasn't one to go down without a fight and, after literally face tanking the explosions for a few seconds, pulled Myrtenaster from beneath her before jabbing at Katsuki's torso, the attack not doing all too much to the boy's Aura. Thumbing her Dust chambers once again, she switched to electric Dust and zapped the boy's side with the best electric Dust money could buy. She hadn't expected him to roll with the attack, pulling her with him. As soon as she was above him, he used his right arm to blast the woman in the chest which threw her into the air. His left hand shot up a moment after and grasped the tip of the rapier before pulling it down hard. Weiss tried to pull it with her into the air but her grip was much weaker than Katsuki's and, only seconds after he grasped it, the weapon fell out of her hands and directly into Katsuki's palm.

Two glyphs summoned both above and below the girl which caused her to stop midair before landing on the glyph below her. She raised her hand and summoned a glyph beneath her sword, pushing it out of Katsuki's grip and straight up into the air. Small glyphs served as platforms beneath the girl's feet so she could run towards her sword and grab it out of the air. Spinning her Dust chambers again, she switched back to a hard-light before pointing the tip at Bakugo and ejecting the Dust.

A laser shot forth from the tip of the sword and hit the blonde in the shoulder, causing him to let out a feral shout of pain. It ended quickly but Weiss sent another one his way soon after and Bakugo was sure that it would hurt just as much as the first. Trusting his gut feeling, he blasted the ground beneath him, sending him up into the air and allowing him to narrowly avoid the laser. Knowing he wasn't out of the woods yet, he continued his ascent, tilting his hands ever so slightly so that he would be harder to hit due to some horizontal movement. As soon as he got close to Weiss's height, he thrust himself forwards with a large blast and sent himself barrelling towards the girl, aiming to tackle her from the side.

A glyph formed between Bakugo and Weiss, a white one with a shield in it. The blonde's lips curled into a snarl as he released explosion after explosion to propel him forwards faster and faster. Weiss had yet to finish the glyph by adding in the hard-light Dust which meant that, when Katsuki barrelled into it, it was still a standard white glyph. As if the world had paused for a second, both combatants looked into each other's eyes. As Katsuki's furious glare met Weiss's haughty gaze, the glyph between them shattered and Bakugo slammed straight into the heiress's body.

Now falling to the ground, Katsuki shifted around so that he was above Weiss before pulling her in a headlock with one hand and using the other to accelerate their fall with multiple blasts. She snaked her arm around his body as if to stab him with her rapier only to realise that it was no longer in her hand. As she looked down, she noticed that it had been dropped when she was pushed off of the glyph and was way too far for her to grab. In one last attempt to save herself, she used her semblance and summoned glyph after glyph beneath them to slow their fall by pushing them upwards. She was surprised when the boy did nothing to alter their course and instead started moving even faster. Now, why wouldn't he-

Weiss's head slammed straight through one glyph and then another, and then another. They didn't even seem to be stopping her fall and instead caused her to lose more Aura over the course of the fall. Seeing her mistake, she dispersed the rest of the glyphs and had to pick a new angle to fight from. She formed a white glyph next to Myrtenaster and flung the sword towards her. Wisely, Weiss formed the glyph at an angle, causing it to be flung up at her so she could have a second to enact her plan. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't angled it correctly and instead of being within arms reach as it passed by, it was a few inches off which meant it would pass by her with no chance of getting it back.

Weiss's semblance became extremely useful in situations like this and she summoned a glyph in the direction the sword was heading to cancel its momentum before forming one beneath it to push it towards her. Her fingers grasped the handle of the rapier as it got into reach before swerving the blade around and thumbing the cylinders to the fire Dust cylinder and thrusting it at Katsuki for a point-blank attack. Since she'd been planning how to get her sword back and save herself, Weiss hadn't noticed that Bakugo had been watching her every move. Seeing that she finally had a way to cause actual damage, the boy stopped using his left arm to accelerate and instead used it to bat the blade away before grabbing it by the blade and aiming the sword upwards, letting the flames touch the air above him instead of his skin.

Weiss, in a final act of defiance, pulled the sword lower so that the entirety of the flames was focused on Bakugo. The attack seemed to do some damage if the pained shout was anything to go by. She planned to use that moment of pain to stop her descent and quickly switched to gravity Dust before forming a glyph above them. Just as she was about to finish the glyph, the blade was completely batted away from the girl by Katsuki, who flashed an arrogant smirk.

Everything went dark for Weiss as soon as her head slammed into the floor. Because of the speed she'd been going at, it was no surprise that Weiss was instantly knocked unconscious (though not dead as the blonde could hear faint breaths when he rolled off of her.) Katsuki got up with only minor bruises and stood up to give the audience an arrogant smirk, enjoying the looks of fear and awe that a few of the people had. These extras needed to know just who they'd fight against in the Vytal festival and that was a good enough demonstration.

"Weiss Schnee has been knocked unconscious and in the red, Katsuki Bakugo is the winner," Glynda said, her voice seemingly tired, "It seems that this lesson will be over soon so you may go back to change, Mr Bakugo. I hope you've learned something from this sparring session. Not waiting for your opponent to strike would be a good lesson to think on. I'll need one of you to tell Ms Schnee's next teacher that she is in the infirmary with Professor Peach if she remains unconscious. Thank you, class will be dismissed shortly."

As soon as Katsuki had left the arena, the room burst into chatter. Izuku caught numerous disjointed words and sentences, the most popular of which being some variant of 'wow, he's strong' or 'wow, he's scary.' He'd even heard some people suggest some outlandish things like assuming that Kaachan was a faunus due to his irritable nature and tendency to growl and shout. That'd be especially weird to think about: Katsuki being a faunus just… wasn't right. If he wanted to go to a shop that didn't allow faunus, he would probably scare the owner into submission and then have the police called on him. And, knowing both how biased the police were against faunus and how Katsuki would respond against it, it wouldn't end well for anyone.

"I hadn't expected it to be that one-sided," Ren admitted, looking at Weiss's floating body which was being moved to a gurney by Professor Goodwitch, "It seems you were correct, Izuku."

"Kaachan always was a strong fighter. The only problem is that he goes a little too hard in some cases. I mean, if she had less Aura or if she'd been even higher, there's a chance he could've seriously hurt her," Izuku scratched the back of his head, "Then again, he likely held back just a little. I doubt he'd want to go against the Schnee family in court; they'd easily be able to buy the best lawyer or just bribe his lawyer to do a bad job."

"How do you think that'll affect Team RWBY's situation?" Pyrrha whispered, under her breath, "That was a pretty steep loss for Weiss. This'll either stop her from pushing against Ruby or cause her to fight back even harder and it isn't clear which way she'll go."

"No idea…" Izuku's eyes glanced at Team RWBY, noticing the worry in Ruby's eyes in particular, "I just hope she doesn't end up tearing their team apart like she'll do if she continues what she normally does. They haven't even been a team for a full week yet."

"To the next lesson then?" Nora asked, lifting the mood slightly with her jovial demeanour, "I'm sure she'll be fine, it's a sparring class after all and she still has some Aura left."

"Guess you're right. To…" Izuku looked at his schedule again, "Ranged combat training with Professor Nara... Wait, that's the Huntsman nicknamed Snipe, isn't it? I didn't know he taught here!"

"Not many know of Beacon's staff to be fair. Just the ones that do events and the main higher-ups like Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch," Pyrrha patted him on the back, "I've been looking forwards to this lesson, I've been slacking in firearms training after all"

"What are we waiting for? Next class, here we come!" Nora yelled, slightly more excited than she normally was.

* * *

The lesson came and went quickly. Whilst the lesson did have a slow start due to the teacher needing to explain how things would go and what drills and training exercises would be done, it quickly came to various students going through an aim training gauntlet with various ranged weapons (everything from firearms to throwing knives and everything in between.) Even students without actual ranged weapons were allowed to either a) use their semblance for impromptu projectiles or b) pick up one of the spare ranged weapons (mainly consisting of crossbows, throwing axes, revolvers and even a few machine pistols) that were kept for training purposes. It was a lot of fun and Izuku learnt quite a bit from the experienced marksman.

After the lesson, the group went to get their lunch which they quickly ate before moving to the library. Once they found an empty table and sat down, the quartet split into two groups with Ren and Pyrrha discussing some Aura techniques whilst Izuku and Nora were going to discuss Nora's electrical gear. Beaming with absolute joy, Nora stared at Izuku expectantly as if she was sure that Izuku would pick something amazing and waited for him to figure it out. If the inventor was being honest, it was slightly creepy but he wouldn't think too much of it.

After a few seconds of fiddling with his scroll to get to the word processing feature, Izuku was finally able to start a new doc. Once titling it 'Nora's support gear,' he decided that it was as good a time as any to start thinking up some ideas. Whilst he suggested a gauntlet yesterday, it wasn't set in stone which meant they had room to change things. Whilst a gauntlet (or any piece of armour) would be convenient for carrying around, it came with the problem that it may be more annoying to reload or refill the batteries or electric Dust when in a fight. On the other hand, Izuku could make a 'weapon' of sorts that Nora could use to zap herself as a power boost. It came with the advantage of being easier to reload/ refill, having less of an effect with the grip of her weapons and would allow her to carry multiple of said 'weapon' on her person.

"So, Nora." Izuku said aloud, leaning against the back of his chair, "How exactly do you want the tools to work? Do you want it to be part of your armour and equipment or as an external tool?"

"What do you mean by 'external tool?'" Nora raised an eyebrow, "Are we talking about a handgun or something?"

"It could be if you want. The main thing I want to know is whether you want it to work as equipment that can shock you when needed or as an external tool that you apply to yourself. As an example from both, one's a gauntlet whilst the other is a stun rod."

"What'd be different when it comes to using them? Is one better?" Nora asked before raising an eyebrow, "Didn't we say gauntlet yesterday?"

"Well, we did but we can change if you want. Anyways, a gauntlet would always be in the right position to be used at any moment whilst a stun rod would usually be on a utility belt or somewhere where you'd need to pull it out to administer the shock," Izuku explained, before scratching the back of his neck slightly, "On the other hand, the stun rod can be refilled and reused quickly just in case you empty the charge mid-fight and still need a boost whilst the gauntlet will be much clunkier when recharging in combat. So, which one do… Wait, do you even have anywhere to put a gadget?"

"I don't think so," she scratched the back of her head sheepishly when she realised she forgot to say that, "Does that mean we're doing the gauntlets then?"

"Not necessarily. I could always just add in some magnetic plates or clips to hold the tool in place," Izuku explained, "Unless you want to go with the gauntlet, it is for you after all."

"I'll go with the gauntlet. Since I use a war hammer, I need to use two hands for the best results so I can't keep pulling out a tool," Nora answered which caused Izuku to type something into the document.

"Okay, do you want one gauntlet or two? You might prefer holding your weapon without gauntlets so one might be better, preferably put on the hand that puts the power into the swing instead of the one that aims and adjusts where the anvil actually strikes," Izuku paused for a second, "Or if you don't mind gripping the weapon with a gauntlet, you could wear one on each hand and have double the amount from the get-go."

"I think we should make one and see whether it affects my grip or not," Nora explained, causing Izuku to nod, "Do you want help when making it?"

"Not for the innards; I can do that myself. But, if you want to help with designing the exterior of the casing, you're more than welcome to," Izuku answered, finishing something on the document before closing his scroll, "Well, there we go. We probably don't have time to get too in-depth right now so we should probably start later. Until then, we're in the library so… are you going to borrow any books?"

"We can design the thing tomorrow since we have to start our combos after the lesson. Do I want a book though… wait, maybe they have one of those comics I read?" Nora bolted out of her chair, "I have to see if they have it!"

"Nora… do you remember what it was called?" Ren asked which stopped the girl in her tracks.

"No…" she answered slowly, "Do you?"

"We're talking about the one with planes shooting each other, right? That one was called Steel Rain, I think," Ren answered, "Do you want help finding it?"

"Of course, Ren! Maybe we can find that martial arts book you wanted back in Mistral. Bye, 'Zuku and Pyrrha! We're going hunting," she pulled Ren out of his chair and ran off in search of the book.

Pyrrha spent a few seconds to finish off whatever notes she'd written about Aura before speaking up, "...Hey, Izuku? Have you ever trained with that shotgun of yours?"

"Not particularly, no. It was a testbed to see if I could use my electrical abilities in order to power an electromagnetic weapon. It's quite a bit stronger than a standard shotgun but it comes with the drawback that you can only use if you have the electricity to power it," Izuku scratched the back of his head, "It was never really meant to be an actual part of my loadout but I haven't gotten around to making something out of it. I should probably get around to doing that sometime."

"What about the inevitable durability problems?" Ruby pitched in, slightly in a huff as she walked to the table, "Wouldn't you need to replace the rails every other week?"

"Not really. You see, I got the rails from Atlas, who've already made railguns which can last longer than 5000 rounds before needing to replace the rails," Izuku scratched the back of his head, "Whilst that's pretty damning for an automatic weapon or something along those lines, it works well enough for a shotgun or a sniper. Whilst I'd never convert my main handgun to something that can break like that, I did consider using a railgun for my lesser-used long-range weapons like the SDS. I could replace the rails when needed but that would come after me emptying the five-round magazine 1000 times. I could add in a little piece of software to count how many bullets are fired from the gun so I can replace the rail before it breaks."

"That's true. It depends on how much you rely on your sniper and, from what I remember, I don't think you used it all too often," Ruby snickered slightly, her mood lifting from whatever huff she was in before, "I use Crescent Rose _way_ too often for turning it into a railgun to be viable. Would you… er, mind if I help you make it? The railgun, I mean."

"Oh, I'm not going to be doing the railgun thing any time soon. I'm currently making some gear for Nora: a gauntlet that can be used to zap her," Izuku explained, feeling slightly guilty when he saw the face that she was making.

"Oh…" Ruby looked pensive for a second, "Wait, can I help you with that? I helped Yang design her own gauntlets so I'd say I'm pretty good, you know."

"Wouldn't Yang have gone to combat school two years before you did?" Izuku asked, before scratching his chin, "Did you design it when you were 11?"

"Yep. I started designing my own weapons when I was nine. Back then, I only made blueprints and drawings but they were fun, y' know. I'm sure you know how great it feels when you draw up a weapon that looks cool, sounds cool, just… is cool you know and then actually making the weapon makes it so much better," Ruby had sparkles in her eyes, the sheer passion she had for weapons causing Izuku to smile in understanding, "You know that feeling when you finish your main project? Like when I finished Crescent Rose and you finished Dreamcatcher. It just feels so, so..."

"Satisfying. Like you've finally fulfilled your life's purpose? As if you can die feeling like you've done something with your life," Izuku nodded in understanding, knowing the exact feeling she was talking about, "I know it _really_ well."

"Yeah, you get it!" Ruby gave him a bright smile before pausing for a second and scratching her chin nervously, "So, erm, should I help or… no?"

"Sure, I doubt Nora would mind if I had a co-designer," Izuku said before pointing at one of the free seats, "Why are you here anyway? I'd have thought you'd have stuck with your team during lunch."

"I was going to but well… So erm, when Weiss came back from the infirmary around the end of our ranged weaponry lessons, it was kinda awkward for a while but then she started talking about how she would be the best teammate she could be and I got a little excited," Ruby scratched the back of her head, "I asked her whether she finally accepted that Ozpin chose me to be the leader of Team RWBY instead of her and then she went back to angry Weiss. Like, I don't know what it is about me but she can't stay nice for long and it's really, really annoying."

"So you came to the library?"

"Well, I kinda got tired of her whining so I just ran away for a while," Ruby sat down on the seat and pulled out a short book, "I've always liked stories which means that I've become a pretty avid reader so I go to the library pretty often. Whether they're retelling stories that happened in real life or they're one of the fictional ones that people thought up and wrote down, they inspire me. Teach me what I need to become in order to become a Huntress, a hero. You know, like, well, erm..."

"Like your mother?" Izuku finished before giving the girl a gentle smile, "That makes sense. There are so many great people with so many great lessons that it's a good idea to look back and see what you can do better. To be the best you can be, right?"

"Right," she nodded before flicking the book open and beginning the novel, "Oh, and if you want my input on Nora's gauntlets. Just knock on the dorm door and I'll be out in a flash."

A comfortable silence fell over them: Ruby was engrossed in her book, Pyrrha continued writing some notes she'd talk to Ren about later and Izuku chose to look at any Huntsmen news that interested him. There was an odd warmth between them; they'd gotten to know each other in the past few days and that meant they didn't feel too awkward around each other. Once someone fought against the Grimm with someone else, a certain level of trust appeared between them.

During that quiet, the trio almost didn't notice the sound of someone sitting down at one of the seats near them. Izuku's eyes flicked off of the scroll for a second and quickly moved to the new presence: a certain black-haired girl who was reading a thick, grey tome with a small emblem just below the title. For a second their eyes met, acknowledging the presence of each other before she started looking at her book. She seemed at peace with the silence and Izuku decided not to mention her presence since no one else had and he didn't want to make the newcomer uncomfortable.

It was only a matter of time before their silence would be broken. Nora rushed around the corner, humming a tune with about as much enthusiasm as she normally had although there was slightly more spring in her step. She ran straight towards the quiet quartet, stopping less than a foot from the group and presenting a comic book. Flinching from the sudden noise, Izuku's eyes snapped to the book cover and instantly recognised the title as the one that Ren had mentioned earlier.

"Hi, team! Hi, Ruby and Blake!" the girl cheerily jumped into one of the chairs and opened the comic book, "I found my book. Well, Ren found my book but I was with him so we both found the book. What have you guys been doing?"

"Reading a book," Ruby said off-handedly, lowering her book for a second only to see Blake in the seat next to her and promptly jumping out of her own, "Gah! Blake, when did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. I was looking for a place to read and here seemed nice enough," she answered, not looking away from the tome, "Why?"

"I just… didn't hear you coming," Ruby blushed slightly, realising that she'd overreacted, "You're really stealthy, you know that? You'd make the perfect spy in those espionage books."

"I know," the girl murmured, turning the page as she did so, "They're one of my favourite genres."

"Oh, you've read some of them?" the silver-eyed girl responded, a slight bit of intrigue on her face, "Have you read High Treason? It's one of my favourites."

"It was quite a good story although it did lean a little more into the action genre than I usually like," Blake's face curled into a small smile, "It was a good read, nonetheless."

"I liked it too! It was a really good-" Ruby was about to start rambling about the novel but was interrupted by the bell.

"Oh, I forgot it was only lunch," Pyrrha said from her seat, having been idly listening to the conversations, "I think we have a lesson about survivalism next. You guys have it too, right?"

Ruby looked at her own lesson schedule and nodded, "I think we're stuck together for the most part. Let's go, guys. I really don't want to be late to a lesson twice on the first day. That'd be a mark on Team Ruby's legacy and I _refuse_ to let our glorious name be sullied! Banzai!"

"Banzai!"


	9. Some Team Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another random day, another chapter that I remembered to post.

“Alright, Izuku, hit me with all you’ve got!” Nora said loudly, her voice reverberating off of the walls of the training room, “Let’s get this started!”

“Hold on there,” Izuku interjected, taking a second to breathe before continuing, “First off, do you know how much electricity you can handle before it becomes too much? Second, do you know if you have a limit on how much electricity you can take in one go?”

“No and no, Zuku!” she answered quickly before scratching her chin, “Well, I sort of have an answer for the second one. Whenever I activate my semblance, the entirety of the electricity seems to be absorbed in an instant so I don’t think there is a limit of how much goes at once.”

“Okay, I guess we’ll find that out as we go. Do you have any way to expend the electricity by yourself?” Izuku asked, seeing as that would be an important part of their little training segment.

“Yep. Whilst I can keep the electricity inside me for extra strength and stuff, I can also release it with an attack that’s super powerful,” she smiled before pumping her fist into the air, “There’s no need to worry when I have all of this space to let loose. So, when are we starting?”

“Now, I guess,” Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly before turning to the two remaining members of his team, “Are you guys going to do your Aura training thing?”

“Yes, we won’t need too much space so we’ll go to the far side of the room and leave the rest to you,” Ren answered before sauntering away, “If I’m correct, the best Nora has done is absorb energy directly from a building’s power generator in… was that in Wind Path?”

“Yep, I got thrown into one because some group were trying to rob us but they were unlucky,” Nora’s face contorted into a vicious yet also care-free smile, “They were  _ really  _ unlucky.”

“So were you, how many cuts did you get again?” Ren asked, reminiscing on Nora’s recklessness. 

“Only, like, seven!” she responded back triumphantly.

“And how big were they?”

“Like, erm, pretty big?” Nora looked sheepish, “But there were only five big ones, the other two were just medium-sized. And I did way more than deal some cuts on them.”

“Mhm,” Ren nodded in acknowledgement before shrugging, “I’ll leave it to your best judgement, Izuku.”

He walked away with those parting words, Pyrrha following behind after giving the two a quick wave. Whilst Nora enthusiastically waved at them, Izuku thought of how exactly they’d go at this and what they could improve. Perhaps he could bring in some equipment to see how high the strength multiplier is when they both go at their current limits. Nodding to himself, he thought of three quick things to test out: whether he could input substantial electricity for a decent strength increase, whether Nora would be able to expend all of her energy in one big smash and how strong that attack will be if possible. That should be enough for them to see where things can be improved.

“So, should we start?” Izuku asked to which Nora nodded, “Alright… d-do we hold hands or something?”

“Hmm… yep!” she snatched his hand and gripped it tightly, “Light me up, team leader! Let’s get some fireworks!”

“E-erm, can you not hold my hand so tightly?” Izuku said, blushing profusely from the skin-on-skin contact, “I don’t want my hand to be crushed accidentally. N-Not that I don’t trust you b-but a strength multiplier might cause you to tighten your grip and my bones aren’t strong enough to deal with that.”

“Eh... sure,” she loosened her grip so her fingers were barely pushing against his hand, “Ready to go now?”

“Er, sure...” Izuku gulped slightly, briefly thinking about whether he should pull out before it's too late before swallowing his ‘slightly justified’ fear, “On the count of three. One… Two… Three!”

Izuku’s body lit up in a flurry of sparks; the inventor chose to go full throttle and max his electric Dust output. Almost as soon as it started, the stray sparks started funneling towards his arm, making it so that only his hand was lit up with neon green lightning. He felt a weird sort of pull between the two as if the electricity was being sucked into wherever Nora stored her electricity and Izuku was being dragged along. Biting down a surprised gasp, his eyes raised to meet Nora’s, witnessing the energy behind the glowing eyes and the sudden amount of light that came from them.

“Wooh!” Nora pulled away from Izuku, a shower of sparks flying between them as she took a few steps back, “Now this is a rush!”

She lifted her fists into a passable boxing stance before throwing a punch towards the closest wall (one where she wouldn’t accidentally hit someone). Electricity flew from her fist in a display of sparks beyond anything Izuku has been able to produce. Pressurised air rushed beyond her fist, striking the wall and causing a sizable dent in the wall. Not done yet, the girl rushed towards the wall at speeds close to what Izuku was able to move at with her right fist cocked. As soon as she was within striking distance, her fist flung into the wall. What was once a small dent suddenly became a large, sprawling blast hole with Nora’s fist being jammed straight into it.

“Now  _ that’s  _ a power boost,” she yelled in glee before pulling her fist out of the wall and looking at her handiwork, “And  _ that’s _ a big dent! We have to do this more, Izuku!”

Izuku could only stare at the girl in shock at what had just happened. That strength was phenomenal and that was without her hammer! Izuku could only imagine how much damage a single hammer swing could do if he drained his own electricity reserves to charge it. If it were at all possible, she might be able to be at All Might’s strength for that single attack. That… was not something to take lightly. Of course, Nora seemed to be doing just that as she skipped over to him.

“C’mon, Izuku!” Nora sprinted towards him with a notable lack of sparks, “Again! For training and stuff!”

“E-Er, sure. But, this time,” Izuku pulled his hand away from the girl before she could try and grab it, “Let’s try and see if you can retain the electricity instead of releasing it all in one go.”

“Sure. It’s a little harder but I can usually do it with smaller amounts of electricity,” Nora agreed with him, to his surprise, “So… are you going to hold back or should I take my hand off when I can’t hold it in any longer?”

“I’ll lower the strength of the current so you have more time to stop when you hit your limit,” Izuku answered before reluctantly offering his hand and trying not to think about how Nora’s hands felt, “When you’re ready…”

“I was born ready! Go, team leader!” Nora said, activating her semblance and absorbing Izuku’s electrical sparks, “Wow… I feel great! How are you feeling, Izuku?”

“Er, fine. How are you holding up?” Izuku asked back, curious whether she felt any strain when keeping all of the electricity inside of her.

“Really good. Getting zapped is a sort of pick-me-up for me,” Nora answered, shooting him a smile that had some electricity sparking across her teeth, “It’s kinda like instant happiness. Yeah, that’s the perfect way to describe it! Happiness in a bottle!”

“Wow, when I absorb electricity, I feel absolutely nothing. Must feel great for you.” Izuku lowered the strength of the electricity slightly, “Can you still keep going?”

“Yep. I’m still doing great. I just have to hold your hand and nothing else. I’m fine!” the girl yelled, a little too loud for Izuku’s ears, “How much electricity did you want me to hold in again?”

“As much as you can before you need to let loose,” Izuku answered before remembering a little fact, “You’re handling this surprisingly well. I thought Ren said that your semblance made you lose your sense of judgement.”

“It does. I just don’t have anything to judge, dummy!” Nora was going to give him a ‘light’ smack on the head but Izuku was quick to duck below it, “Ooh, perhaps not.”

“Perhaps not indeed,” Izuku replied back, hair still bristling from the pressurised air, “Try not to punch me again.”

“Eh, no promises,” she answered factually since there was no way for her to hold back, “Just make sure to dodge like you did before.”

“I don’t like my chances of leaving this room alive,” Izuku grimaced before thinking of something, “How come you're dealing with it so much better compared to last time?”

“That’s because I got a little excited with the power boost. Also, what do you mean you don’t like your chances’? You’re-'' Nora asked before quickly stopping herself when a sudden surge of electricity came out of her back, “Ah, I think I hit my limit. What did you want me to do again?”

“I… didn’t think of that. Should we try and extend how long you can keep it up?”

“We could… but that sounds boring…” she seemed to deflate yet still be full of energy, “Ooh, d’ya think I can beat Pyrrha like this?”

“W-Wha-”

“Let’s test it now whilst I’m super strong!” she yelled before setting her eyes on her target.

“Nora no!” Izuku interjected but was paid no attention

“Nora yes!” the girl’s voice boomed across the room, reaching both Ren and Pyrrha despite the distance.

“What do you think that’s-” Pyrrha started before noticing that Nora was running straight towards her with her fist cocked for a punch, ”What the- Nora!”

No one on the team had brought their weapons so Pyrrha was left with only her semblance and her battle experience. Whilst she was by no means great at fighting hand-to-hand, she had some formal training due to her tournament background so she wasn’t helpless. Her eyes quickly checked Nora’s form for anything metallic that she could use but there was nothing that made itself immediately obvious. Seeing that she had moments left, Pyrrha used her semblance and pushed forwards, trying to move anything that Nora was carrying on her.

Despite the magnetic push of Pyrrha’s semblance, Nora still continued forwards, acting as if nothing had happened. Smiling, she went in for a punch, fist slamming into the wall with enough force to cause a dent with hairline fractures without much electrical discharge. Pulling it out of the wall with ease, Nora swerved on her foot and threw a right hook at her teammate who quickly ducked underneath the attack and threw her own punch: an uppercut aimed straight at Nora's face. Even with the strike landing on her chin, Nora still continued on with a roundhouse kick, aimed squarely at her opponent’s head.

Slipping beneath the leg with practised ease, Pyrrha grabbed the limb from behind before shoving hard against the knee with as much force as she could muster. Instead of breaking the joint like she’d been hoping, the joint stayed in place and, before she could react, discharged a sudden surge of electricity. Gritting her teeth, Pyrrha let go of the leg and let her Aura tank the electricity, eyes checking each and every weak point that Nora might have. The fact that she was able to withstand the attack on her knee meant that she must have some sort of toughened muscle and thus needed a more roundabout way of being taken out.

Seeing one that she could exploit easily, Pyrrha slid beneath Nora’s legs before twisting behind her and wrapping an arm around her neck to go for a choke out. Knowing that striking her opponent with punches and the like would be a waste of time, Pyrrha held tight and continued despite the sudden surge of electricity that was coursing through her. Despite her Aura protecting her from the worst of it, she still felt the surge of pain which, if only for a brief second led to her loosening her grip.

In that brief second, Nora ducked low and grabbed Pyrrha’s arm before swinging it downwards, throwing the body over her and onto the ground. Despite the clear opening, the orange-haired girl spent a few seconds breathing in and eyeing her opponent. It wasn’t a serious fight after all so there was no need to go all out. Sputtering ever so slightly from being choked, she watched as Pyrrha rolled to her feet with ease.

“Wooh, now that’s a good choke!” Nora said light-heartedly, treating this as a training exercise, “But, I’ve still got some juice in the tank so we have to keep going! Darn it, I wish we had our weapons, that’d be so much more fun!”

“I doubt that,” Pyrrha responded, looking for anything she could do to win.

Still riding the high of Izuku’s electricity, Nora went back on the attack. Throwing a haymaker, Nora put a lot of force into her punch and it paid off. Despite the attack missing Pyrrha due to a step back, the air pressure that came from it was enough to cause her to stumble back. Nora took that opportunity and ran for an uppercut; charged with electricity that rolled across the fist in a display of strength.

Stepping around the fist (and subsequent air pressure) and grabbing the wrist, Pyrrha twisted it as hard as she could before using it as an anchor to cut Nora’s face with an elbow. Letting go of the wrist, she snaked both hands around her opponent’s neck before headbutting the girl. Using the disorientation caused by a strike to the head, Pyrrha had ample time to throw Nora over her leg and onto the ground.

Having been already disorientated from a strike to the head and then thrown onto the ground, Nora was a little confused but otherwise ready for battle. Pressing her foot against the ground, she readied herself to bolt upwards and go back onto the attack. Unluckily for her, Pyrrha was already on the attack: a straight punch with a glowing fist. A glowing fist? That meant that she was doing one of Ren’s Aura focusing things and those could do a lot of damage if they hit. Having only glanced at it for a second, Nora was unsure whether or not Pyrrha’s punch would land before she got up so she did the only thing she thought would work: meet the punch with all of her strength.

Seeing that she’d be met with resistance, Pyrrha dove to the left to avoid the punch and struck Nora in the abdomen. Despite feeling the strong air pressure from the girl’s punch, Pyrrha continued to attack by slashing at Nora with a quick elbow and following that up with a solid headbutt. About to follow through with some more attacks, the girl was surprised when she felt two hands wrap around her waist and pull her closer to her opponent. That surprise quickly morphed into embarrassment when she saw Nora’s bubbly smile was only an inch away from her face.

“Now that was a good fight!” Nora said, hugging Pyrrha even tighter, “You’re so strong I couldn’t even beat you with my semblance. You must be even better when you have your sword and stuff on you!”

“I guess… Can I ask why you attacked me out of the blue?”

“I didn’t attack you; we were sparring. You see, Izuku activated my semblance so we could work out how much electricity I can hold without being forced to let it go. Once I started releasing electricity without wanting to, I decided that I reached my limit and wanted to test it out. You’re strong so I thought it’d be a good idea to try it out on you,” Nora explained before beaming at her teammate with excitement, “And you were  _ super  _ good! Like, I barely did any damage to you!”

“I wouldn’t say ‘barely any’...” Pyrrha muttered, feeling phantom jolts in her body, “You did quite a bit with that electricity. If you landed a hit, I might have been in really bad condition.”

“I think it’d have done more than that. Look to your right,” Izuku muttered breathlessly, “That was only from the air pressure.

“What are…” the words died in Pyrrha’s mouth when she saw the enormous dent in the wall, an enormous shallow hole with countless fractures in the wall around it. That was only the air pressure which means that, if she had chosen to continue with her own punch at the end, there was a small chance she may have ended up as a smear on the wall.

“Ah, perhaps sparring wasn’t as good of an idea as I thought,” Nora perked up, “But… we should use this on Grimm; we can kill as many of those as we want. Let’s commit Grimm genocide, guys! To the forest!”

“Not today,” Ren answered, worried but seemingly calm, “I think you should continue testing at a lower amount. I’d also suggest doing more mental exercises during testing; that’s the main drawback of her semblance after all.”

“Good to know…” Izuku breathed a sigh of relief and quickly powered down, “So, want to do some training with our weapons? I’m going to need some more practice with dodging and evasion?”

“Sure, but why?” Nora asked, slightly saddened by the fact that they weren’t doing any more semblance training.

“I’m Auraless and stuff so I have my own little system like Professor Goodwitch mentioned,” Izuku stopped himself when he saw the confused look on Nora's face, “Y-You know, I’m an A-0. I thought I told you that… r-right?”

“A-0? How did you get to Beacon!” Nora somehow moved from next to Pyrrha to centimetres in front of him in the blink of an eye, “How are you so strong? Wait a minute, what’s the electric thing then? Is it actual Dust?”

“I-I guess I forgot to tell you. Guess I should explain before we start training some more,” Izuku sighed in disappointment, “How did I forget to tell you that? Well anyways...”

“You’d think that’d be one of the first things you tell your teammates, you know,” Nora said before patting Izuku on his back, hand bouncing off of Dreamcatcher’s steel plates, “Eh, but don’t sweat it Team Leader, I forget to say important things all of the time.”

“Like?” Izuku breathed in deeply, somewhat embarrassed with himself, “I thought it’d be a pretty important thing to say. What did you forget to say?”

“That I’m a girl,” Nora said bluntly, causing both Izuku and Pyrrha to have equally confused looks, “Ya see-”

“Wait… there’s a story there and I don’t know whether I’m allowed to hear it,” Izuku said, his mind running through random scenarios where gender comes into play and none of them was something he’d like to think about.

“Eh, it’s fine. I met a guy, he thought I was a boy and we went into the woods for… I think he had some special guy’s fort thing: I don’t know since I never got to go there. But anyway, the guy suggested a pee break before he, y’know, peed on a tree or whatever. But, see, cos he didn’t know I was a girl, he just started peeing,” Nora said, keeping the same enthusiastic tone as always, “And then when he asked why I didn’t, I told him that Ren said it’s weird for boys and girls to pee together... I never got to see his fort. Disappointing since he said it was so cool.”

“Ren… How?” Pyrrha mumbled out, slightly confused by how Nora would be able to pass off as a boy, “How does that happen?”

“Well, you see, Nora’s hair had grown quite long by then and we didn’t have the time nor resources to clean her hair enough so we decided to get her a haircut. I made the mistake of letting Nora go alone whilst I got our supplies back so it’s sort of my fault that she ended up cutting her hair like mine was,” Ren sighed, seemingly tired from Nora’s previous actions.

“The same hair?” Izuku raised an eyebrow before looking at both Nora and Ren, trying to picture it, “I need to know what that looks like. Wouldn’t you still be able to tell that she was a girl though?”

“Since we were both wearing the same set of light armour, it was pretty hard to tell that she was a girl because of the clothing. Other than that, Nora was about as tomboy as it gets so I’m not entirely surprised that someone thought she was a boy,” Ren clarified before shrugging, “I’m not entirely sure; I wasn’t there so the most I can do is use what Nora told me and she’s a faulty source at best.”

“Hey, I tell the truth!” she pouted as she answered, although there was a slight blush as if she accepted it.

“A skewed version of the truth. Don’t try to deny it,” Ren gave a long, drawn-out sigh, “Don’t you remember that incident in Kingyoso. You said you went for a walk.”

“I did. It’s just that, on that particular walk, I just so happened to walk into a group of thugs and just so happened to break their legs,” Nora gave a small smile before remembering to hastily add on, “In self-defence of course. It’s not completely my fault.”

“You still said you went on a walk,  _ only  _ a walk,” Ren narrowed his eyes but his bemused sigh seemed to lessen the effect.

“I wasn’t wrong. I just forgot to mention the fact that I ended up in a fight,” Nora tried to brush it off with an innocent little giggle but that only caused Ren to sigh even harder.

“I never said you lied. I said that you give a skewed version of the truth… and you do,” Ren shrugged, ending the topic before Nora became a little too heated, “So… are we going to do that evasion training you suggested. I’m more of an evasive fighter like you so I wouldn’t mind training with you.”

“Me too. I don’t really dodge but I can hit stuff fast so I can help you train to dodge,” Nora pulled Izuku into a side hug, “Hey, whilst I do, can I use my semblance, please? It’d help me-”

“No, I value my life!” Izuku blurted out before stopping himself and trying to backtrack, “N-Not that I don’t trust you b-but, well with your strength, I’m unsure if I can even deal with a single attack if I don’t dodge.”

“Aww. But it’d incentivise dodging-” Nora gave a test swing into the air with her hammer, “See, incentive.”

“I-I don’t want to die if I’m unable to dodge!”

“You wouldn’t die: you’re Aura would… I see the issue here,” Nora nodded to herself, “Fine, no semblance. Just really hard swings, alright?”

“Sure... Do you want to join Pyrrha? Might as well have this be a whole team thing instead of leaving one out,” Izuku said, seeing as the final member of his team was standing there awkwardly.

“Sure. I don’t mind helping you at all,” Pyrrha scratched her chin slightly, “I will admit that I’ll be using my semblance so things might not be as fair as you’d like them to be.”

“What is your semblance anyways?” Nora, who’d initially seemed down since she couldn’t use her semblance, perked up when Pyrrha mentioned hers, “We already know everyone else so shares yours.”

“Whilst I’ve tried to keep it a secret, for the most part, I’m sure that telling you will only be beneficial,” Pyrrha gave the trio a small smile, “It’s called polarity. I can use electromagnetism to move metallic things around. It’s incredibly useful when it comes to manipulating both my weapons and my opponent's weapons to block attacks, dodge attacks and make sure that things don’t miss.”

“Oh…” Nora nodded slowly before her eyes widened, “Can’t you throw Izuku around like a ragdoll with your semblance? Or, well, can’t you pull him around to help him dodge things?”

“Yes, if I wanted to, I could throw Izuku around but I can’t hold him for long or push him for far. My experience with holding larger objects is limited considering my semblance's most common use cases were concerning swords, maces and the occasional greatsword or long mace. If it came down to a fight between me and Izuku, I wouldn’t use my semblance all too much considering just how much Aura I’d end up using and how fatigued that would leave me afterwards,” Pyrrha answered, somewhat embarrassed that she hadn’t trained so much with her semblance, “I’m hoping that, in Beacon, I'll be able to train my semblance so that it is more usable.”

“So…” Nora let the word hang for a second before an idea popped into her head, “We’re going to be using it in the Vytal Festival right?”

“Hm? Oh, right, the Vytal Festival will be going on this year. Perhaps I should start training my semblance more often before we start approaching the tournament. Izuku, you have spare metal right?” 

“Of course I do. Give me the weight you want and I could pull out some of my older tools. Maybe Pandora’s Box will finally have a use after all,” Izuku answered, thinking back to his early, unwieldy weapon, “I think I still have the parts to it back at home. I could probably ship it over here.”

“Pandora’s box?” Pyrrha asked, before recognising the name, “Wait? You mean that multi-purpose abomination you told me about?”

“It wasn’t an abomination. It was just… not made for human use. But yeah, that’s the one. It’s several hundred kilograms of sheer heavy weaponry when assembled so you should be able to test your semblance with it,” Izuku scratched his chin, “Since I dismantled it, we should be able to start small and add on weight over time.”

“Yes, that’d be preferable,” Pyrrha rubbed her arm almost sheepishly, “I’ve neglected training its strength for a long time.”

“We all start from somewhere… Well, aside from me I guess since I don’t have a semblance. Wait, what is my semblance? You know, like if I had the Aura to activate it,” Izuku paused for a second, his mind wandering for a second before he shook his head, “Ah, well. No matter how useful or useless it may be, I’ll never have enough Aura to activate it so there’s no point thinking about it.”

“What our team leader said! When I first discovered my semblance, I couldn’t handle basic electric Dust bullets and look at me now!” she twirled around flamboyantly, hammer poised upwards to avoid hitting anyone “I was able to tank most of ‘Zuku’s electricity with no sweat. Even if you can’t lift him for long now, one day you could hold up… erm, airships! Yeah, just throw airships around into Grimm. That’d be awesome!”

“Perhaps I might,” Pyrrha admitted, realising that there was a lot of untapped potential with her semblance, “So, shall we begin our training?”

“Better now than later. If you three stand around five metres from me, we should have enough space for me to let loose my wires,” Izuku said aloud, releasing his wires and spinning them around him to test how it was, “Yeah, it should work. You three attack me and I’ll evade your attacks. You should try to get used to the others fighting style and their type of attack since we’re going to end up in a situation where we may tag-team an enemy. As long as we have a decent grasp of our teammate's abilities, we shouldn’t need to worry about getting in each other's way during actual Grimm encounters.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Pyrrha nodded, lifting her sword and shield into a stance, “Shall we attack him all at once or should we go one at a time?”

“Me and Ren will go first since we usually fight around each other. You join in once you know how the fight will go, Pyr,” Nora gave a giddy little giggle, “Let’s beat down Izuku so hard that he’ll be in prime shape for Vytal, Renny!”

“That may not be the best way to put it but we should put our leader in extreme fighting conditions,” Ren, in a rare occurrence, agreed with Nora’s sentiments completely, “He’ll be a prime target should we get into a fight where they know he’s Auraless. Do we stop after three successful hits since you only have three attacks you can take before losing a match? Or are we only going to the first hit?”

“Three hits should be perfect. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to last considering I'm fighting against three people but let’s see how far we go,” Izuku spiked his Dust levels, electrical sparks running across his skin, “On the count of three?” 

The hammer-wielding girl gave a large grin before looking at where Izuku's eyes were, “Three!”

She closed the distance between them immediately, giving Izuku no time to breathe. The inventor slid beneath the first hammer swing before grabbing the handle with wires and trying to cease the weapon out of the berserker’s grip. Unfortunately for him, Nora’s strong grip allowed her to throw him off of the ground and into the air. Acting like a tether to the ground, the wire was the only thing that kept him from slamming into the wall. Retracting the wire, Izuku found himself back onto the ground and into the striking zone. A straight swing downwards was dodged by a quick sidestep whilst another diagonal strike was avoided by a light explosion into a backwards roll. As soon as the teen leapt out of his roll, he was met with the anvil of a hammer being flicked straight up to his chin. By reflex, he twisted his torso to the side and barely jumped out of the way, air whizzing past him to show how he’d almost been hit.

In the immediate fight, Izuku had almost forgotten that there were other opponents but, thankfully, his sensors hadn’t. When Nora had almost struck him with upwards swing, Ren sped in with superhuman agility and came to send a flurry of attacks at him. The monk appeared behind his armoured teammate, ready to jab the blades in StormFlower into Izuku’s armoured neck. Due to the quick notification of Izuku’s sensors, Ren’s element of surprise was gone and he needed to react quickly. Before he could dodge, a wire had already snaked around his leg before yanking the limb to his side and pulling Ren out of Izuku’s way.

Landing slightly disgruntled, Izuku almost didn’t notice the bronze shield that was cutting through the air towards him. Also spotting Nora rushing towards him, Izuku quickly used his grip on Ren’s leg to throw him into the air towards the shield in the air. Not having time to see whether he successfully blocked the shield, Izuku turned his attention to Nora before quickly grabbing the top of the handle of the hammer and guiding the vertical swing slightly away from him. As soon as the hammer’s head went behind the armoured teen, Nora yanked the weapon back to quickly hit Izuku in the back of the head. Izuku didn’t even have a second to respond; grabbing the head of the hammer with all of his wires to push it away from him in a near-instant. 

As soon as the hammer was far enough away that he wouldn’t be hit, Nora did something he hadn’t expected: she let go of the hammer. Because of the sudden lack of resistance, the wires shot away from him which meant that he was left completely open. Capitalising on his defenceless state, Nora threw a hard punch towards him which Izuku didn’t have any wires to deflect. Weaving beneath the punch and using his blast bracer to propel him behind Nora, the teen yanked his wires back towards him, tugging the hammer along with. Predictably, Nora spun on her heel to continue throwing attacks at Izuku, unaware that her weapon was going to crash into her at high speeds. Luckily for her, one of her teammates had noticed Izuku’s plan and the hammer quickly shone with a dull black haze before smashing the ground.

Knowing why his plan failed, Izuku focused on Nora’s punches, weaving around them with his increased agility. As soon as he saw the girl extend herself just a little too far, he grabbed the girl’s wrist with his hand before grabbing her legs with his wires and throwing her off of the ground. Scanning his surroundings with a cursory look, Izuku spotted Ren coming close to his blind spot from a distance in order to ambush him when he wasn’t paying attention. It likely had been a minute since the fight started and the boy didn’t want to lose before the fight really began. Ren couldn’t get him this early, not on his watch anyway.

Nora soared across the air with as much grace as one would expect from her. With excited whoops and cheers, she hit the ground metres in front of Ren, laughing from the sheer excitement of it all. Her attention turned quickly towards her discarded weapon which lay in its crater. Izuku didn’t have much time to observe what else happened considering Pyrrha quickly rushed towards him, her xiphos almost slashing through his armoured throat if not a quick hop backwards. This proved to be detrimental since the slash was followed by a shield bash which Izuku had to use Black Whip to deflect. This didn’t prove to be useful for too long since Pyrrha quickly used her semblance to seize control of the wires. For the first time in a very long time, Black Whip’s wires wrapped around Izuku’s legs, almost throwing him off balance and allowing her to get the first hit in the match. Retracting all of the wires quickly, the inventor prevented that from happening and faced Pyrrha with only his Blast Bracers, realising that he was at a complete disadvantage.

Using her semblance, Pyrrha pulled Izuku towards her, angling her sword for a quick thrust into the Dreamcatcher’s chest plate. Thinking on his feet, Izuku released an explosion to his left so he could avoid the sword thrust. Mid-air, he extended two wires and grabbed Pyrrha’s wrists, yanking them away from him so that he could dodge without having to worry. After he thought he passed the girl, he was surprised when he felt something clink against his side. Turning around after quickly retracting her wires, he was met with a soft smirk, showing that he’d been hit. His eye quickly snapped to the weapon which had clattered onto the floor before quickly levitating back into Pyrrha’s hand.

“How long did I last?” Izuku said, eyes focused both on Pyrrha and Nora, who looked to be preparing for a charge towards him.

“I’d say around a minute and a half, perhaps two,” Pyrrha answered honestly before throwing her shield towards him.

Izuku caught the shield with a single wire before holding it over his palm, “I could do better. There’s always next time.”

With that, he let loose the charged explosion and let the shield soar across the sky at break-neck speeds only to be met with an invisible resistance which caused it to stop. Sighing since he knew it wouldn’t be that easy, Izuku jabbed a wire towards her wrist but wasn’t surprised when it froze in place. Accepting that he couldn’t rely on his wires, Izuku rocketed to the right with an explosion and jumped away from the girl so that he could quickly mentally note down where each of his team members was. Pyrrha was directly in front of him, arm raised as if she was about to use her semblance, Nora was charging towards him from the right, ready to not break his legs, and Ren… where was Ren? The question hung for a second before Izuku’s sensor pinged something behind him. Before he could dodge, he felt an invisible hand shove him backwards directly towards the pinged object.

Not able to see but still having the sensor, Izuku spun his wires around where he thought Ren’s shoulders would be so he could lift him upwards and move away. He caught some sort of appendage and spun the rest to tie them around the stoic student. Izuku spun to the side to pull whatever he’d grabbed to the ground, narrowly dodging a hail of bullets that came from Pyrrha's rifle in the process. From his new position, he quickly realised that all of his wires had in fact wrapped around Ren, who somehow snuck into that corner without Izuku noticing. Another burst of bullets quickly shot towards where Izuku had been seconds earlier but the boy backpedalled on instinct and dodged the bullet fire. His eyes quickly met Ren's before lowering to the glowing black wires that had been on Ren’s body seconds earlier.

The sudden spray of bullets that came from StormFlower almost hit Izuku if not for the quick use of a wire to pull the barrel upwards. Ren span and tilted the gun backwards, over his shoulder and back towards Izuku. Ducking beneath the bullets, Izuku let out a quick discharge through the wires before unholstering his handgun and quickly sending bullets Pyrrha’s way. Pyrrha responded with her own rain of hot lead which Izuku tried to block with his wires only to be cancelled by the girl’s semblance. Changing tactics, the armoured huntsman-in-training used his Blast Bracers to shift the bullets off course and thankfully allowed him to get away without a single bullet landing on him. 

Unluckily for him, Ren had already rushed towards him and sent quick slashes his way. Leaning back from a few of them and stepping away from others, Izuku was constantly moving on his feet to dodge the countless slashes that came his way. As he found himself ducking underneath a slash aimed around his jaw, he ended up in the perfect position to be hit with a downwards stab. Quickly pushing his arms forwards, Izuku detonated an explosion and threw himself back before the strike could land only to be met with a sudden projectile coming from his left. On instinct, he quickly grabbed it with his wire before trying to throw it away. 

Fortune didn’t seem to be smiling on him considering the pink projectile burst, resulting in a pink explosion. The attack hit Izuku, that much was clear considering the cloud of the explosion completely hid him from view. He almost breathed a sigh of relief since he’d have a short break before his sensor showed three incoming people. They were rushing towards him to finish this sparring match and Izuku didn’t want to let them win without pushing him past his limits. Not that this was easy, he’d be lying if he said this was anywhere close. 

Ren struck first with a quick chop that almost chipped his shoulder if he hadn’t twisted away from it. The cloud cleared as Izuku dodged two more slashes before spinning around Ren and throwing him to the ground. He wasn’t alone for long since Nora burst into his vision with her hammer prepped for a strong swing. Diving away from the hammer, the inventor was put into the range of Pyrrha’s spear which flew across the room and almost hit him in the shoulder blades had he not grabbed it with his wires. The spear seemed to try to pull itself out of the wires grips but the wires were too strong. Of course, that didn’t matter since, less than a second after that was made clear, the wires loosened and the spear shot straight back into its owner’s hand.

Pyrrha gave a competitive smirk before pointing at him with her spear and channelling her semblance, causing him to glow a dull black. Despite a second of nothing happening, Izuku was suddenly propelled backwards by a magnetic push, throwing him into the air and into the walls of the room. In reaction, he fought against the force with his Blast Bracers, using repeated blasts to try and overpower the girl’s semblance. After all, her semblance wasn’t going to hold him up for much longer. Whilst he slowed down, he knew that he hadn’t completely stopped and that meant he was slowly but surely edging towards the wall where he would be attacked from three angles with his back to the wall. Making a quick decision, Izuku stopped releasing constant explosions and gave Pyrrha ground, his back almost touching the wall before he pushed forwards with a charged explosion. Despite the time taken to let the explosion charge, he still hadn’t overcome her semblance.

Taking the opportunity given to her, Nora jumped towards Izuku with her hammer ready for a quick swing that would finish the sparring match. Whilst he hadn’t seen her with his cameras, his sensors pinged her location and he knew that he couldn’t let himself be hit. Twisting his hands forwards, Izuku threw himself towards the wall with his wires ready to hook in and keep him stable for a counter-attack. As soon as he attached himself to the wall, Izuku watched as Nora flashed before his eyes, striking the air where he once was with enough force to crush him, her eyes meeting his with determination. In a rush, the inventor dropped to the ground, feeling the displaced air when Nora’s hammer flew above his head. A little hop to the side allowed him to avoid being hit when the hammer fell back to the ground as well as let him get a better look at Ren, who was coming with another flurry of attacks. 

In a test of reflex, Izuku slipped around the blades, not sure whether his wires would end up being used against him via Pyrrha’s semblance. Constantly moving, he pushed his speeds to the limit to avoid each attack that came split seconds away from landing on his armour. It was a test of endurance and Izuku wasn’t sure whether he would end up pushing too far but, in the current thrill of the fight, he didn’t seem to care. Every attack that came towards him required a near-instant decision and they weren’t the type Izuku could make when he was thinking about such trivial things like pushing past his limits. Despite being in a near-flow state, Izuku registered the sound of his sensor beeping and used an explosion-propelled back handspring so he could get a better look.

Pyrrha threw her shield towards him, only missing because he used an explosion to throw it off course. She didn’t seem to care since she threw her spear as well which was narrowly avoided with a twist to the side. Even though it missed the first time, the spear quickly retracted back and almost hit him on the second attack if not for Izuku snatching the spear out of the air with his hand. He was only able to keep his grip for a second before the weapon slipped out of his hand due to the girl’s semblance. Mid-way between them, the levitation seemed to falter and the metal stopped glowing a dull black.

Watching Pyrrha grab the sword out of the air, Izuku quickly understood what had just happened: Pyrrha’s semblance had started faltering. Extending his wires, the boy smirked under his helmet as he decided he should test his theory. His partner charged him with a swipe which he avoided by deflecting the blade with a wire that met the blade head-on. Twisting around him with a quick step, Pyrrha manoeuvred herself around him before trying to bash him with the handle of her weapon. With his wires, Izuku quickly pushed Pyrrha away before grabbing her ankle to throw her away. As soon as he was about to throw her away from him, Ren charged him quickly and took his attention off of Pyrrha. 

Back in the familiar duck-and-weave he’d been in before, Izuku had time to quickly find a weak point before grabbing Ren and throwing him over his head into where Pyrrha should have been. Ren shifted midair so that he would land feet first, a move that would have confused Izuku if Ren didn’t suddenly bounce towards him in a sudden burst of speed. Although surprised by Pyrrha shield-bashing Ren back towards him, Izuku thought quickly and extended his wires to catch Ren out of the air and throw him away. 

It was at the moment that he’d caught Ren when Izuku realised that he’d put himself in a bad position. First of all, Nora was already mid-swing to his right and was about to hit him directly on his head if he didn’t move. Secondly, Pyrrha’s shield was thrown towards him and, from its angle, was going to bounce off of the wall and hit him straight in the back. Thirdly, Ren had the barrels of StormFlower already aimed at him so moving forwards wouldn’t be a good idea. Finally, Pyrrha was already heading towards his left to stop him from moving any further. This… was a problem.

His first threat was Ren, who was just about to pull the trigger on his weapons. Izuku pulled his wires to the side and threw him into Nora, his second concern. Unsure whether Ren would be able to stop Nora from attacking, Izuku hopped to the right and quickly snatched the shield before it could bounce off of the wall and slammed it into Nora’s hands. Despite that, he still wasn’t out of the woods since Pyrrha had just closed the distance and thrust her sword towards his side. A quick pivot wasn’t able to save him since, as soon as he did that, Pyrrha flicked her sword towards his right and almost grazed him if not for an explosion-powered jump that got him out of harm’s way. As the xiphos flicked to the side, Pyrrha reversed her grip and thrust it forwards, aiming directly into Izuku’s chest.

As Izuku was about to dodge backwards, his sensor pinged something coming from behind him: Nora’s hammer. Knowing that he was screwed if he got hit, Izuku manoeuvred his wires to catch the hammer and attempted to quickly dodge to the side only to find himself frozen for a moment. Eyes widening, the inventor watched through his cameras as Pyrrha’s blade tips were only a few centimetres away from his torso. The effect wore off and in those milliseconds of action, Izuku twisted as violently as he could to avoid the thrust, ready to try and get away from Pyrrha’s next attack. And then Izuku felt the patter of bullets on his armour... and then he felt Pyrrha’s sword clang against his armour when he didn’t dodge far enough. Thankfully, his wires had caught Nora’s hammer and swung it into the ground before it hit anyone.

“N…” Izuku took a deep breath, exhausted from the fight, “Nice job, guys. I was really backed into a corner throughout it all. Also, Ren… how are you so fast with those?”

“Practice,” Ren gave him a small smile, “Practice and some occasional advice. You did quite well, enough that I had to go as fast as I could.”

“I have to agree with them. Whilst teaming up on one person was new to me, you seemed to be able to defend against us for the most part,” Pyrrha coughed into her hand slightly, “You even fought off my semblance so I had to recover quickly. This just shows how I need to improve on my semblance more.”

“Izuku! You did great! Like, an 8/10!” Nora yelled as she finally reached the group, “See, you’re not a 10/10 because you didn’t dodge everything and you’re not a 9/10 because you got hit a few times. Still, that’s about where Ren is. Speaking of, when are  _ we _ sparring Renny?”

“In a few minutes, a quick rest period after that match wouldn’t be undeserved,” Ren reloaded StormFlower before stretching, “We start when everyone’s ready. Aren’t you a little fatigued?”

“Not at all, Renny!”

“Can’t say I didn’t expect that,” Ren admitted, a bemused smile on his face, “Try and sit still for three minutes?”

“Yes, Ren...” Nora hit the ground in an instant before waiting for a second, “Can we start now?”

Ren’s smile grew a little larger.


	10. End of the first day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for all of you. I couldn't think of a good chapter name so I went with this. Please comment if you feel anyone is a little too OOC; that's something I'd like to avoid if possible.
> 
> Anyways, here you are.

"Dang, Izuku! I didn't know it'd be this nice," Ruby asked with a bright grin, taking in the room around her, "It's not fair how you get to have this awesome workshop room! Where's mine?"

"Have you tried becoming an A-0? That gets you one pretty easily," Izuku responded, booting on his desktop and moving his laptop onto the desk, "You can use my laptop, I'll use the computer. We'll share a file and, hopefully, put together a working electro-gauntlet."

"Hm, okay," Ruby examined the laptop before nodding, "I should be able to use this. Also, just so you know, I've got a rating of H-25. It may not be the best but it's not like I tank my shots like Yang does so I'm all good."

"Okay, good to know I guess. Maybe you should join in our evasion training?" Izuku said before remembering how it went only hours prior, "You know what, scratch that, I can't even deal with my own team, it's best not to add another."

"Ah…" Ruby started before stopping for a second to examine Izuku quickly, "You have leadership issues too?"

"Er…" Izuku held his tongue for a second, she said 'too' which implied she was having issues herself, "Well, I wouldn't say issues but I wasn't exactly expecting to be put into the leadership role. What about you?"

"I have that too but there's also the fact that, well, Weiss has been a pain to deal with," Ruby looked over her shoulder quickly, as if she'd been expecting the older girl to appear out of thin air, "My already low self-confidence and lack of leadership is kinda, erm, increased, I guess when I keep being nagged at. You know, I was hoping that Yang would be the leader and I could be some sort of secondary character with their own little character arc but being the leader, the main protagonist, wasn't something I wanted. I mean, now I have to have a decent character arc and development or I'm a failure of a protagonist!"

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself," Izuku waved away her worries, "You're a better team leader than I could be. I mean, I can't really lead as much as I can support. You know how I fight."

"Yeah, you're more of a support with occasional attacks. Still, you can give orders around and stuff. I can't even do that without being looked down upon," Ruby swung her arms upwards in frustration.

"Looked down upon?" Izuku repeated before thinking for a second, "Just Weiss or the others as well?"

"Weiss does it the most outwardly but I just know that everyone else is feeling the same way. The way they talk, the way they treat me like a kid. It's like I don't belong here…" Ruby said before mulling over her words, "I'm only fifteen-years-old, I'm the youngest person in Beacon-"

"To be fair, you're also the youngest person to get into Beacon," Izuku interjected, shining some positivity on the girl's actions.

"I have the least experience here! It doesn't matter how good I am at combat training and stuff, I still didn't do all of the stuff they did!" Ruby responded with a bitter smile, "Me being brought into Beacon early was a mistake."

"Didn't you beat the number one criminal or something? How can you do that and think you're not ready?" Izuku replied back, feeling ever so slightly motivational, "I mean you were picked early! How does that work by the way? Were you sent a letter or something?"

"No. Professor Goodwitch kinda saved me when I was about to get hit by a dust fireball. At least, I think it was Dust. Kinda hard to tell between Dust and an actual semblance. Anyways, stuff happened," Ruby answered before murmuring the rest out, "And-then-I-was-picked-by-Ozpin."

"What?"

Ruby sighed, "And then I was picked by Ozpin..."

"You were picked by Ozpin himself to skip two years!" Izuku gasped in disbelief, "And I thought I was special for being put on the short list because of him?"

"You were put on the short list?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, "When did you meet him?"

"At the end of the I-Island Incident, I met him just after fighting one of those criminals in the control room. He complimented my skills and my armour and I kinda, erm, met him, I guess. He said that he might put me on the short list and, when I took the test to apply for Beacon, I found out that he wasn't kidding," Izuku admitted, deciding to skip over the fact that he passed out almost immediately after Ozpin complimented his armour, "But that's besides the point. If Ozpin himself brought you here and made you a leader, there's not really a reason to doubt yourself is there?"

"But he admitted that he's made mistakes himself. According to him, he's made more mistakes than any man, woman and child. You know, typical wise, vague stuff that the old mentor archetypes say in books… wait, that's besides the point, what matters is that he's made mistakes and me being the leader is one of them." Ruby pouted, thinking back to what Weiss had said before, "And even if he was right, that doesn't stop the fact that I'm not leader material!"

"Neither am I, Ruby. Neither am I," Izuku breathed a long sigh, "But, take it from someone who's Auraless, who really shouldn't have a place being here. You're meant to be here, no matter what anyone says. I mean, what's their word against Ozpin?"

"Yeah, but…" Ruby drew a long sigh, "Perhaps you're right, perhaps you're not. I don't know anything other than the fact that Weiss can be a pain… Although, to be fair, she does have moments of being nice."

"She's trying at least," Izuku thought his next words out quickly, "That means she accepts that she should be nice to you and that's some progress, right?"

"Right… wait, three motivational speeches in two days? I don't know why I'm worried; you're definitely the protagonist!" Ruby snickered light-heartedly before scratching her chin, "So, er... when should we begin?"

"We can start now if you want. Nora said that she'll do the exterior design tomorrow because she wanted to hang out with Ren today. That means we don't have a reason not to begin," Izuku answered, waving around to show his team member's absence, "But... I don't mind talking about the team thing a little longer if you have anything else to get off of your chest."

"Not really, I got everything I really needed out. I guess it goes without saying that I'd prefer if you didn't bring it up," Ruby paused for a second before her eyes widened, "You definitely aren't telling any of them, right?"

"Of course not. Your secrets are yours to share, not mine," Izuku waved away her worries before opening the document from earlier and setting the sync up, "Anyways, Nora has already told me what she wants so we should be good to go. Any time you're needed back?"

"I have an hour before Yang said she wanted me back. That should be enough for the basic planning and stuff. I'm going to push in a bunch of offensive stuff, you get the electrical stuff down," Ruby answered before sliding into one of the chairs with the laptop in hand, "Been a while since I've used a physical keyboard. Ah, feels tactile and stuff."

"You use those scroll computers?" Izuku asked idly as he started writing down some ideas, "They're pretty cool when it comes to coding but they're a little too closed-source for my taste. Plus, I just prefer using a physical keyboard and carrying one of those scroll keyboard addons kinda defeats the point of a scroll's portability."

"It's something you need to get used to. It's a trade off, sure, but I don't mind. Still, this laptop's pretty nice. I might consider using one when it comes to designing Crescent Rose."

"Isn't Crescent Rose finished? Are you talking about upgrades or full-scale redesigns?" Izuku thought back to the girl's weapon, "I can't think of anything off the top of my head to improve it "

"Yes and no. Just because Crescent Rose hasn't seen any major design overhauls doesn't mean it's the final design. I'm a weapon fanatic, what would I be if I didn't upgrade my weapons?" the girl questioned before cutting off any answer Izuku could think of, "I'd be a sham. And I, Ruby Rose, am no sham. I'm the truest, bluest… er, reddest weapon fanatic you've ever seen."

"I get that… But what upgrades are we talking about here?"

"Like, erm, Dust integration, some sort of short-range weapon integration in case someone gets past my scythe blade and I'm backed into a corner and stuff like that. I've also been thinking about allowing my weapon to split in half and turn into a sickle. Or, maybe I could make it retractable and one-handed? Or, better yet, hard-light blade projections! I saw a demonstration in Atlas, a weightless blade that's formed from refined hard-light Dust. Of course I could make it double-sided but should I go opposite ends or..." Ruby was about to continue before realising what she'd been doing moments earlier, "But, you get the point. Upgrades, a lot of upgrades. Maybe I'll test them with you later but right now, we have to do Nora's gauntlets. Let's see, an easy idea would be spiked knuckles."

"Was probably going to add them in anyways. Well, that or throw in some extra metal reinforcements on the knuckles," the inventor started typing away at how the circuitry was likely going to work, "Nora's pretty good at punching so it likely wouldn't go unused if she drops her weapon."

"I didn't think of her as a hand-to-hand person. Hm, do you think an integrated push blade is a good idea?" the girl tilted her head, "Nah, she'd work better with blunt weapons."

"Yeah, I think it's better to just reinforce her knuckles, perhaps throw in studs or small spikes in case someone catches her first, " Izuku supported the girl's sentiment, "But, there are some other ideas. I'm thinking of zapping her in the forearm so she doesn't loosen her grip by accident so keep that in mind when you suggest something."

"Grappling hook or razor wire? A focused ranged attack of some sort would be beneficial," she answered back, "Since we keep mentioning zapping her, is it to do with her semblance? Could we channel that electricity through the wires?"

"Oh, right. You went to go find Weiss with Pyrrha so you must have missed Nora's demonstration. She can absorb electricity and conduct it around her body to either increase her own strength or let it loose as an electrical attack," Izuku explained before thinking over her suggestion, "Grappling hook might work though. Since I've already got Black Whip as a foundation, I could tweak it to get into Nora's gauntlet and use a simpler control mechanism."

"Should we attach it on top of the gauntlet or integrate it inside? Integrating it inside might cut down the space we can use for storing electricity but attaching it to the top might make it unwieldy," Ruby scratched her chin, "I should get a grappling hook sometime; it'd help with verticality. Probably can't fit it into Crescent Rose though… Ideas for later."

"What about a crossbow? You know, throw in some utility arrows for smokes, fire arrows or oil arrows for area denial, gas arrows for similar area denial and even that grappling hook," Izuku suggested as he drew a basic outline of the gauntlet and roughly labelled where things would go.

"I dunno, I'd like everything to be in one place," Ruby breathed a long sigh, "But, fitting a crossbow into Crescent Rose may not be all too viable. Plus, it's a weapon my mum used on occasion with her dagger and sniper. I don't know if I'm ready to fill those shoes just yet. Like, have you heard that one story where she fired a bolt through a tree and into the Grimm behind it? Or that time she was able to hit another invisibility semblance user with a crossbow bolt?"

"Yeah, who hasn't? She fought against a notorious criminal with invisibility, a suppressed shotgun and better knowledge of the area and somehow she ended the fight with only a single bolt and dagger push. She's easily the most famous crossbow user in the modern day, only being compared to some of Vacuo's ancient warriors," Izuku remembered reading that story in a book about huntsman weaponry, "I guess I can understand why you wouldn't want to use a crossbow; you'd end up being compared to her a lot more than you'd want."

"Heh, yeah. Way more attention than I want. Then again, the fact that I'm using a sniper is going to get me compared to her anyways," Ruby gave a long, drawn out sigh, "But… I might consider it if only for the utility you mentioned. Maybe slipping a thermal scope onto Crescent Rose to capitalise on smokes isn't a bad idea. Again, ideas for later."

"Mhm. I'll run the idea of a grappling hook by Nora, see if she likes it. If we get a go ahead, I'll tell you," Izuku said aloud before creasing his eyebrow, "Alright, so when it comes to the electrical shock, should we use a single impact area or multiple? The difference being that with one impact area, there's less that can go wrong (and we can get away with using only one electrical store) whilst with multiple areas of impact, she can charge herself much faster."

"Shouldn't we go for the second one? You know, extra power is kinda what we're going for," Ruby pointed out as she typed out yet another idea: energy-Dust powered shockwaves or just some servomotors, "Also, would throwing a piston on be a good idea or no?"

"Perhaps… It would depend on whether she wants the grappling hook or the piston? It'd also be quite a bit clunkier to carry around and might get in the way of her hammer swings."

"Why not just move the grappling hook to the side and leave the top part for the piston?"

"We could… Then again, that might cause the hook to snag on things like Nora's clothes which will cost her some time to set it for another shot," Izuku thought over his ideas, "If it came down to one or the other, I'd choose the grappling hook just because it means she can rush opponent's better and, with her strength and choice of weapon, that could be pretty deadly. Why not just use servo motors or some sort of energy Dust shockwave creator? Wait… you already wrote it down, why suggest pistons?"

"Meh, best to give multiple options you know," Ruby scratched her chin, "I wonder if I should give Yang a grappling hook? It'd work as well as it would with Nora with the plus side that she can use it to throw a punch. I mean, she's strong, but… That'd be something else, no?"

"Sure. Yang's a hand-to-hand combatant so she has relatively short range, especially when considering her only long-range option is a shotgun. Having a grappling hook should let her close distances quickly and ensure her opponent stays in range," Izuku visualised the blonde using the grappling hook and couldn't see anything majorly wrong, "It depends where you put it. We might not be able to fit it onto… what's the weapon's name again?"

"Ember Celica."

"Yeah, we might not be able to fit it onto Ember Celica without either reworking it to give it more space or giving her an incredibly short-range grappling hook," Izuku started forming the basic circuitry on a little program, "Or, we could make her a separate sleeve that she should slide on before equipping her gauntlet. If we're giving grappling hooks to everyone, why not give one to Blake? She's a hit-and-run fighter if I recall."

"Nah, her weapon works as one. Although, maybe I could give one to Weiss? She's probably the most fragile member of our team and her semblance works well for support so it'd be better to keep her in a safe spot," Ruby said before coughing slightly and blushing, "But, she's also too prideful to accept that. She barely trusts me so accepting a tool I made her might not work."

"Then again, maybe it'll help her trust you?" Izuku thought about it and shrugged, "Then again, you'll need to get her measurements. I don't think she'll just give you her measurements. I guess all you can do is take them when she's sleeping, right?."

Izuku was about to continue with his work before he spotted Ruby's expression in the corner of his eye, "You're not… actually planning on doing that are you?"

"W-Wha… no…" Ruby's eyes darted away from him and she sheepishly rubbed her elbow.

"You know if she catches you, there is no way she'll trust you. Ever."

"I know… But she doesn't trust me anyways so…" she met Izuku's disapproving, incredulous look and shrunk underneath it, "Fine…"

"Alright… Perhaps you should ask her. I may not have good people skills but even I would just ask someone for their measurements instead of measuring them in their sleep," Izuku said aloud before stopping in disgust, "God, it sounds wrong to say."

"Eh, perhaps not. It's not like she needs a grappling hook anyways. Yang and Nora, on the other hand, need it but don't know they can have it," Ruby decided to keep away from the topic of Weiss for a little longer, "That's what we're for, right fellow team leader?"

"Er, sure, I guess," Izuku answered before remembering that Ruby only had an hour, "What's the time?"

"I dunno, check on that computer you're on?"

"Ah, right. I forget there's a clock in the corner," Izuku admitted sheepishly, "8:11. When did you say you needed to go again?"

"8:25ish. We have time… So, whilst we've been talking about the grappling hooks, how are we going to do them? Are we using buttons and sliders to shoot the hooks and then another button to retract?"

"Since these won't have the same sensitivity and fine movements I can make with Black Whip, we'll also need to add a button in order to lock the grappling hook in place. Or… we could use a slider? Push it towards the wrist to shoot forwards, push it into the middle to lock it in place and then pull it back to retract would be good enough… Though that means that two hands are needed which may not be viable for Nora, who uses a two-handed weapon. Actually, since she grips the handle of the hammer with her right and uses her left for momentum… If I put the slider on the inside of her right arm, she can grab it with her left whilst retaining grip on her hammer. I should ask her when we meet in the dorm room."

"Don't you have her number?"

"No… I should probably do that before I need it for something that's genuinely important," Izuku shrugged, "I guess I'll ask her when we meet up at the dorms."

"Are you saying that this isn't important, Izuku? We're making grappling hook gauntlets. You know what would make it better? Grappling hook gauntlets with guns! Grappling gunlets!"

"I thought you didn't like puns?"

"Only when Yang says them. Also, hers aren't about weapons which means they don't get any brownie points," Ruby scratched her chin slightly, "I thought you didn't like them either? I mean, the way you acted oblivious to them made it easy to notice."

"Would you believe that I really never caught them?" Izuku blushed slightly in embarrassment, "A-Anyway, back on topic, gun gauntlets likely won't work with Nora: she prefers melee with occasional explosions and I know from first-hand experience how different using a firearm is to using gun gauntlets."

"They're not that different? You punch stuff and it booms slightly more than normal."

"Huh…" Izuku thought on her words for a few seconds, "Wait, did you mean gauntlets like the one Yang has? I thought you meant full-automatic gun gauntlets like the WMG?"

"WMG?" Ruby repeated, "Wazzat?"

"Wrist-Mounted Gun. I made them way back," Izuku reminisced slightly, "They were an older weapon of mine but I decided to scrap them when it comes to the Dreamcatcher since, you know, I have the explosions and a handgun. The machine guns wouldn't come into use often so…"

"Why would you scrap that? You have to show me them! How many bullets could it hold?"

"I forgot how much exactly but it was around 200-"

"200! How?" Ruby interrupted, "That can't possibly fit in your arm!"

"Nah, it did. I used a revolver-like design that would switch between magazines so that once one was emptied, it would switch to another magazine. The bullets went along my forearm in case you're wondering," Izuku towards his left forearm and pointed between the wrist and elbow, "I fit enough bullets that I could throw in 250."

"Wouldn't that have been straining on the arms and, y'know, hurt? You know, no Aura and stuff?"

"The first ones did hurt a little. Then I discovered shock absorbers and shock dampeners which, for the most part, made them easy to use for long periods of time," Izuku's arm tensed in phantom pains, "If we're talking about weights, I made sure that the gauntlets went all the way up to my back so that my arms weren't supporting all of the weight. Even then, it meant that I ended up with relatively decent upper body strength which was helpful when I fused with Dust and needed to up my physique."

"Hm… well, d'ya you still have them on you? I have to see this!" Ruby looked around the room in search of any gauntlets, "Please?"

"My hands are tied. I didn't bring it with me since I wouldn't be going back to the design. It's likely still at home in my bedroom. With a bunch of other stuff I made, now that I think about it-"

"Yo, Izuku? Are you there? I need Ruby ASAP!" Yang's voice rang over their conversation followed by a few knocks on the door.

Deciding that this was probably some sort of team emergency, Izuku zipped over to the door and opened it before pointing at Ruby with her thumb. In almost an instant, Yang ran over to Ruby before hoisting her over the shoulder and running out of the room. Somewhat confused, the inventor poked his head out of the doorway and into the corridor only to see Yang's shrinking figure with a squealing Ruby over shoulder.

"Hm, that happened," Izuku shook his head to clear the confusion, "Probably some team emergency. I guess I have some alone time to myself… Should I write down some Huntsmen notes or go back to the dorm?"

The clock read 8:19.

"I'll just send this all to Nora and then I can do some notes. It's not like 10 minutes of note-taking ever hurt anyone."

"So, a grappling hook, huh," Nora repeated Izuku's question before grabbing her hammer and going into a combat stance, "Which hand did you want to put it on?"

"The right. You should be able to grab the hook easily with your left hand whilst still keeping your grip on the hammer's handle," Izuku explained, causing Nora to do the motions mentioned.

"It'll work. You don't have to, of course, since I thought we were only doing the electric thingy but, y'know, this is pretty cool," Nora shifted positions energetically and would have continued if not for the fact that she'd almost destroyed her own bed, "You're team leader, you'll probably be right. Since you're probably done with that, d'ya want to play some video games?"

"What?"

"Video games. I just bought some on my scroll and need someone to play with. Why you? Well, why not you? Well, other than the fact that you're the only person that's free since Ren is reading a book," Nora waved at the boy, who was reading a spiritual book from his bedsheets, before turning back to Izuku, "And Pyrrha… Actually, where is Pyrrha?"

"Here," Pyrrha made a small noise from her bed, "I tried working my semblance whilst everyone was busy with their own things. I'm worse than I expected with Polarity."

"Oh, yeah. I should probably ship Pandora over here so you can use it to train your semblance. If I ask today, we can probably get it here between… four and six days? Somewhere around that time frame," Izuku said aloud, remembering Pyrrha's request during their training.

"Nice, Pyrrha can join us as well. This is almost a team activity," Nora's eyes shifted briefly to Ren, "Almost. Now then, time for some team unwinding!"

"Hey, this is great and all but you haven't mentioned which game we're playing," Izuku pointed out.

"Oh, I bought a bunch on sale since, well, they were on sale. I got the new G-1 game so if you want some fast racing game, we have that. I also bought the new Battle Sisters so if you're feeling a little competitive, we can do that. Oh, and if we're feeling really daring, we can try out the new Rise of Civilizations."

"Rise of Civilizations… I think I've heard of that one," Izuku scratched his chin slightly, "It's the one where you start an empire and get a religious victory before the game really begins, right?"

"Well, I usually went the warmonger route but yeah, that's the one," Nora paused for a second and thought back, "Well, to be fair, I only played the game six times when I was staying at this one family's house on Mistral's west coast. I... lost them all within 60 turns."

"How come you were on Mistral's west coast?" Pyrrha murmured, interested in the lives that Ren and Nora once led, "Or, well, why were you staying in a random family's house?"

"Ah, well, one of the Huntsmen that we'd been living with for…" Nora scratched her chin, "Was it a few days or a few weeks, Ren?"

"If I remember correctly, Riku only stayed with us for three or so weeks?" Ren scratched his chin, "That time flew by so quickly we never really got to know him, did we? I wonder if he's still alive; it has been a few years."

"Of course he's alive, Ren! Don't you remember how cool he was?" Nora cheerfully pumped her fist into the air, "Remember that time he shot an Ursa's eye whilst jumping from tree to tree. Heh, you never could copy that."

"He did only fire one bullet per jump," Ren pointed out, "My weapons are automatic so I usually did three or four to guarantee hitting somewhere rather than firing a single shot at a specific place. He made it look much easier with a revolver."

"Yeah, he was great!" Nora almost sighed when she was reminiscing, "Made a killer soup. I wish I remembered those ingredients but that's in the past. Anyways, that's besides the point, have we decided on playing that then?"

"Well, how are we all going to play Rise of Civilizations then? I'm sure you needed multiple copies of the game to play multiplayer?"

"Oh, right… G-1 or Battle Sisters?"

"I don't really mind. Both games seem equally good to me," Izuku answered, letting the others decide which game to play.

"I don't believe I have the right to choose. After all, I haven't played either franchise ever so I might not be the best person to judge which one we should play," Pyrrha tried to think back on whether she had played one of those games, "In fact, I don't think I've played a video game since my dad bought the newest Road Brawler game… when was that?"

"It's been that long? What have you been doing with your life?" Nora asked for a second before her eyes widened, "Wait a minute, since you're so successful as a tournament person, you must have like zero free time, right?"

"Not exactly. Whilst tournament fighting does limit my free time, I do have a little bit of time to spend on things I like."

"Which are…"

"Shows and movies mainly," Pyrrha answered, "It's a form of entertainment that can tell a story and convey all of the information with as little time as possible, That makes it optimal for someone like me who barely has enough time as it is."

"I guess that means the game we play is all up to me..." Nora seemed unsure which to pick, eyes glancing at both of the icons on her scroll, "Battle Sisters it is!"

"Alright, if we've all decided on the game then let's begin," Nora tapped on the game's icon before smiling at the two of them competitively, "Just so you know, I've been playing this series for a while so don't expect to win."

"Heh, you're about to be crushed, Pyr!" Nora said as flamboyantly as she could, eyes glaring daggers at the screen in front of her.

"As if, you're already three lives down and you've already lost four matches!" Pyrrha responded with slightly less vigor, "I think I have this game in the bag!"

Izuku's eyes glanced at his own life count: 0. Yep, he was completely outclassed. Well, not by a huge margin, he did pull a single win but that was likely a fluke. Try as he might, he was nowhere near as good as the other two were as they quickly chained attacks like they were nothing. Still, it wasn't like it wasn't enjoyable to watch the two play. It was a team bonding activity and that was important considering they'd only met each other a few days ago.

Deciding that, with his character dead, he had no real reason to pay attention, he decided to take a few steps back and talk to Ren, who was idly reading away. The monk-boy noticed him as he approached, eyes looking away from the pages and looking directly at Izuku. As if recognising something in Izuku's eyes, Ren offered a hand, as if asking for Izuku to give him something. After a brief moment of contemplation, Izuku handed his scroll to Ren and decided to watch what his team member would do.

The monk boy's lips curled into a small smile as she shut the book and slid between Pyrrha and Nora. There was a level of confidence that he had which Izuku was surprised by considering how passive he usually was. Ren also seemed to appear at just the right time considering Nora had just knocked Pyrrha's character off of the stage which meant that this match was over and they'd be taken back to the character select menu where Ren would be free to pick his own character.

"Ah, Renny. It's been a while since we played, huh?" Nora said off-handedly as she stared intently at the screen, "Not since that tournament in that one town south of Mistral. Hey, wasn't that the first tournament you won?"

"Tournament?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at the two of them, "They hold tournaments for these games?"

"Yes, eSports tournaments aren't all too uncommon. I only joined because the person we'd been tagging along with was a fan of the game and introduced it to me and Nora. I think it was only a week after he left that we found a tournament holding a competition for the game with a cash prize. Since we were low on money, I went for it and ended up third," Ren shrugged in indifference at not winning, "I got a small amount of money and ever since then, I kept an eye out in case there was another opportunity to get some money."

"Ah, so he's a pro at this game…" Izuku mumbled to himself, it explained why he had that confidence, "Let's see where this goes…"

Izuku's eyes were wide with shock. Ren demolished his two opponents with ease. Until that moment, the inventor didn't completely understand spectating sports or eSports but, after that show, he was beginning to understand why it was so popular. The way the attacks were chained together, the levels of prediction and foresight that went into each move, it was surprising how complex the game could get when you saw someone with a good understanding of the game play.

"That was unexpected," Pyrrha seemed to be equally as confused but her soft smile showed that she had no ill will whatsoever, "But, I don't think that's a bad thing. It seems like the Invincible Girl has been beaten once more."

"You seem a little too happy about it for someone who got freaking destroyed by Ren like I was. I'd thought you'd be upset considering you're almost always the strongest person in the room," Nora asked, eyes narrowed in confusion.

Pyrrha rubbed her arm in slight embarrassment, it seemed that things were getting ever so slightly touchy.

"Ah… Now I get it!" Nora clicked her fingers as if she'd made a groundbreaking epiphany, "You're really good at hiding your losses. You know, cos you're a celebrity and all and they barely show their emotions ever since most of them are lizards... You know, that doesn't sound too healthy, not the lizard bit but the emotional repression. If you're hiding your emotions, you can let it rip on us you know! Ren's a certified therapist!"

"Wait, really?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow before thinking back to the boy's semblance, "Although it does seem like a perfect fit."

"When we were wandering around Mistral, we ended up in a city called Hasu. We were wandering around for a while until I ended up needing to use my semblance on a drunk man. As it turns out, that person was a chronic alcoholic and it was rare for him to be perfectly coherent so the therapist there quickly took note of that and tried to turn me into being the city's therapist. I was granted a certificate as well as a place to live for a while until Nora won the heart of yet another Huntsman and we hitched a ride with them," Ren handed the scroll back to Izuku before stretching his fingers and facing the redhead, "Would you like to talk?"

"Oh, not particularly, no," Pyrrha said, remembering why they were even talking about the topic in the first place, "I'm actually quite alright, thank you."

"Don't worry, I won't judge if there is something you do want to talk about," Ren reassured her before shooting his team members a smile, "Anyways, I believe you said that you bought the new G-1. Would you like to play?"

"Don't tell me he plays that game competitively as well!" Izuku murmured to himself before wondering aloud, "Do people play G-1 competitively? It is just a racing game after all."

"Course they do. I'd been hearing a lot of hype around G-1 DX's release so I decided to buy it whilst on sale," Nora eyed Ren for a quick second, "Also, Ren doesn't play G-1 competitively so we have as equal of a chance of winning as possible."

"You mean I have a chance?" Izuku asked, knowing that his performance in their last game was subpar.

"Yep, team leader! You just might reach second place after I crush the other two," Nora seemed to revel in the competitive atmosphere she was trying to create, "Oooh, oooh, whoever wins here has to win something."

"Like what?" Ren voiced in concern, "Anytime we have a prize, it's always something lethal."

"Hm," Nora looked around her for a second as if she was trying to find a prize, "But I don't have treasure like the funny-shaped grenade on me today. And a prize has only exploded in your face once."

"That's one more time than it should have happened."

"Gah, you're right and I hate it, Ren! Be wrong for once!" Nora gave the boy a sharp, playful glare.

"You're full of great, safe ideas, Nora," Ren deadpanned.

"I said be wrong…" Nora said, about to continue berating Ren for being right when a sudden thought came to her head, "But, since you were right when I asked you to be wrong, you were technically wrong by being right when I wanted you to be wrong. Well played, Ren. I'm proud of you, best buddy!"

Ren rolled his eyes as Nora pulled him into a tight, one-armed hug, "You always are… best buddy."

"Hah, you said it back!" the ginger giggled gleefully, "This is a rare thing indeed, Renny, rare thing indeed!"

"E-Erm, are we going to be playing the game or not?" Pyrrha asked with a low voice, hoping she wasn't intruding on their moment.

"Of course we are Pyrrha!" Nora bounced back to her position before opening the game and looking at the title screen, "Try not to lose to the AI, Izuku! I'm setting them on easy mode just for you!"

"Hey, that was uncalled for!" Izuku responded before accepting that nothing could justify how bad he'd been at Battle Sisters. Oh well, at least he had a chance here. This was a game all about reflexes and making quick split-second decisions so this was perfect for him. He'd surely win this. Izuku went into the game with that exact mindset, ready to win.

He did not win.

As he eyed the final scorecard and saw how he'd lost first place to Nora by only 1 point, watching her shoot the brightest, most exuberant smile at him, he decided that he didn't like video games. He didn't want to touch one ever again. Ever again… Or at least, not until Nora convinced him to play again just because he couldn't really say no to something as harmless as that. That'll probably happen… tomorrow, probably.

Izuku sighed as he eyed his team member before his lips curled into a smile. He may have lost but he couldn't deny he had fun. And, judging from the smiles that the others had, he assumed everyone else did as well. This was a fun night to bond with his teammates. In the corner of his mind, he wondered if Ruby was doing something similar with her own team after whatever emergency they had before shaking the thought. It didn't matter what Team RWBY were doing; he should just enjoy his time with his own team. He did just that.


End file.
